YuGiOh! Search of a Son!
by Witty Phantom-GP
Summary: My mom was taken from me when I was just 11, but I have a lead... The Neo Domino University of Dueling and Entertainment. But what if my friends and I have to stop a great evil? Will I get mom back? One thing I do know for sure; You don't wanna miss this! Rating may be subject to change due to possible future lemons and swearing. I just want to be on the safe side...
1. Amazoness Scouts

_Good whatever time it is. Before we get the show on the road, some rules. People will duel with 4000 life points. Why? I don't play the game, but I do watch the show so I'm more used to duels with 4000 life points and duels with 8000 lp tend to get dragged out long. Xyz monsters and Synchro monsters will both appear._

_I'll also use the term Xyz in order to stay loyal to the OCG. Number monsters are NOT the fragments of a spirit's memory from another realm in this story so they will be used, but without their Number. So Number 17: Leviathan Dragon will simply be called Leviathan Dragon. Otherwise, I would only be limited in which monsters I could use._

_In the same aspect, I don't use a definite banlist. But I'll try to avoid broken cards. For instance, I'm not planning on using Dark Armed Dragon, but Mass Driver can be used. Cards that are only broken in OTK's, but that are fair in other situations will appear, but not in the aforementioned OTK's. Other cards, like Exodia and its pieces, will only be used in 1s. You'll see eventually which cards._

_Overall, I'll mostly use TCG names, except when they are so utterly rediculous that using them would be an insult to the cards. I mean, Destiny HERO Captain Tenacious? That sounds like some bad brand of glue!_

_In favor of the terms 'Tribute', 'Tribute Summon', and 'Remove from Play' I'll use 'Release', 'Advance Summon', and 'Banish'. I like these terms better._

_If I use a card that has not been released in the TCG, I'll list it at the end of the chapter. OCG only and anime/manga cards will only be listed in the chapter of their debut or, in case I changed its effect since its last appearance, at the end of each chapter used. Custom cards are listed at the end of each chapter they're used. This is for the people who are short of memory LOL._

_If there are any questions, just ask them in your review. Please, review... The English used might not be as good as in other stories, but English is not my native language and, in school, I've only had three years of English education, so bare with me. Oh, and I don't own anything used, except for some cards used and the characters. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all other installments are property of Kazuki Takahashi-san. Yes, I just used an honorific... On with the show!_

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Search of a Son  
>Chapter 1<br>Amazoness Scouts

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_A Street in Neo Domino_

"Aw man, he's late!" A tall teen with strawberry blonde hair under a skating helmet said. He wore a black button up shirt and jeans, and carried a small backpack on his back. The boy's name was Cornwall 'Corny' Creek and he was waiting for his best friend to arrive at the street where they would meet up, so they could head to the entrance exams of the Neo Domino University of Dueling and Entertainment. The exam was divided in three parts: A written exam to test common knowledge on the topics of History, Science, Maths, and Language; A duel against a Duel Proctor; And performing a small monologue or any other type of art. None of this was on the mind of Corny, however, as his friend was very late.

"WATCH OUT!" A certain voice shouted behind Corny. As Corny turned around to see the source of the panic, he could barely jump to the side on time to dodge the lavender haired teen that crashed into a trash can a moment later.

"TRUNKS, WHY ARE YOU SO LATE AND WHY DID YOU ALMOST MURDER ME!" shouted Corny at the boy, who was lying on the ground covered in trash and half-eaten sandwiches.

"Sorry dude, I just didn't sleep very good last night and I overslept this morning. As for why I almost murdered you, I'm still a bit sleepy, so I forgot how I had to stop a skateboard," answered Trunks, while trying to get some chewing gum out of his lavender undercut. "Man, I hate chewing gum."

Corny sighed. For some reason, Trunks was really unlucky with trash cans and chewing gum most of the time. "Wait," he started, "I have some peanut butter with me, so stop making it worse and then I will give it to you," he ended as he reached inside his backpack and took a brown pot out of it.

_Later in a Street in Neo Domino_

"Well, that was nice and refreshing," said Trunks as he brushed his hand thru his hair.

"You mean that this always happens, when you crash into a trash can, which, by the way, happens all the time," retorted Corny.

"Touché."

"Can we just go to the entrance exam?"

"Okidoki!"

"You're impossible."

"I know," said Trunks, as they skated of to their destination.

_Entrance Exam Hall_

_'O my God, why is this taking so long,'_ a brown haired girl with multicoloured highlights and a black blouse thought. Her name was Elizabeth Gullies and she was waiting for her entrance duel.

"Is their something on your mind, Liz?" The girl next to her asked. She had short, brown hair and her dark skin tone indicated Latino heritage. She wore a pink tank top and a white skirt.

"No Tabby, I just think that this is taking too long. I mean, we have been waiting here for half an hour and neither of us has had their turn yet, so yeah…"

"Would Elizabeth Gullies please report to duel stadium 3b."

"Scrap what I just said," said Elizabeth, as she started to walk to the stadium.

"Good luck!"

"I don't need luck."

I know, but you can't blame me for being nice!"

_Stadium 3b_

"Hello, I'm professor Ralph Zouga. Are you Elizabeth Gullies?" A man with a blue bob and big earrings said.

"The one and only. Can we get started?" said Elizabeth, while preparing her Duel Disk. **(ELP: 4000)**

"Sure, Level 2, huh?" said Zouga. **(ZLP: 4000)**

"Of course, level 1 would only be boring. You can start off." Elizabeth said looking at her hand.

Zouga drew his first card. "I activate A Legendary Ocean!" The man yelled as a huge ruin of a great temple appeared and the field was flooded with holographic water.

"Seriously? I thought that level 2 would be a challenge, but instead I get an ALO-deck! Does that deck even contain Coelacanth?" sighed Elizabeth.

"Well no, bu-"

"Wow, the University is cheap this year."

"Well, I don't like your tone young lady. And to prove that this deck is good, I'll now summon the Spined Gillman!" he said before a blue, amphibian man with numerous spikes on his back shot out of the water holding his big pike in the air. **(Lv: 3-2 / ATK** **1300-1900)**

"Turn end."

"Impressive, you managed to summon a level 2 monster with 1900 ATK. Too bad it won't stay on the field for all that long," said Elizabeth with a smirk as she drew her card.

"What do you mean?" said Zouga in slight panic.

"I play Sealed Mantra!" the girl said as an old, wooden box appeared in front of her. Then the box opened to reveal a scroll covered in ancient writings. "Then I summon Sealed Beast Nunurao!" The creature that appeared was lackluster to say the least. It was a small, limbless, reptilian creature with rocky armour on its head, torso and tail. **(Lv: 2 / ATK: 500)**

"And before you go and whine about the fact it's weak, I'll release it to advance summon Sealed Beast Momaw Saibon!" The little critter's armour expanded over the rest of its body and grew to the size of a cow. It burst open to reveal what could be best described as a snake with a ruby on its head and strong legs holding it of the ground. **(Lv: 6 / ATK: 2000)**

"I think someone has to read the rules regarding Advance Summoning again. You cannot Normal Summon twice in one turn and Advance Summoning is considered a form of Normal Summoning," lectured Zouga.

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but if you're referring to the summoning of Nunurao, that was a Special Summon. And now, Momaw Saibon devour his Gillman!" The beast shot out in excitement as it swallowed the amphibian creature whole.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why didn't my Life Points go down?" asked Zouga in amazement.

"This wasn't even its real attack. That will be now! Go, Cobra Striker!" At Elizabeth's command, the neck of the Reptile shot out like that of a cobra, started glowing with dark energy, and released a powerful blast, which shot the duel proctor to the ground, nine feet behind where he stood just a second ago. **(ZLP: 4000-2000)**

"Aww, that was painful. And, by the way, those Sealed Beasts of yours are broken. Free Special Summoning and destroying monsters without any cost! Gimme a break," ranted Zouga as he tried to stand up.

"I was wondering when you would start about that. You see, Sealed Beasts are treated as vanillas if Sealed Mantra isn't on the field. If it is, however, they gain their effects," retorted Elizabeth.

"Well, that's just nice for you," the proctor said with poison in his voice. "However, I do now know the weak spot in your tactic."

"You wouldn't believe how many people have said that to me. Not that it ever matters, I always beat them in the end. Set 3 cards. End turn." The girl answered in a grim tone as three face-downs appeared next to the Sealed Mantra.

_A Random Square_

"Face it, we're lost," said Corny.

"No, we're not lost. We've just been going around in circles without knowing where we are," retorted Trunks.

"That's the meaning of 'being lost', Terence Brivon!" fumed Corny.

"Really, we're using whole names now, heh."

"Whatever, can we just ask someone where we have to go?" said a very angry Corny as they skated around a corner.

"Found it," said Trunks as he pointed to a huge building with 'Neo Domino University of Dueling and Entertainment' above the main entrance.

"Well that's convenient."

_Stadium 6b_

"Okay, now you're gonna get it. I summon Warrior of Atlantis!" The new monster looked more humanoid than Gillman, but it still carried a large pike. **(Lv: 4-3 / ATK: 1900-2100)** "I activate Moray of Greed by returning Levia-Dragon Daedalus and Deep Sea Diva!" A large Pot of Greed appeared and a big, blue leviathan swam into it together with a singing mermaid. Then, out of the pot, three cards appeared that levitated into Zouga's hand.

_'Awesome! I have Gravity Bind, Spiritual Water Art – Aoi, Torrential Tribute, and Prohibition. Now, all I have to do is destroy her Momaw Saibon with Warrior of Atlantis, set Gravity Bind, Torrential Tribute and Aoi, and on her turn, she will lose her drawn card by the effect of Aoi, and will have to pass.'_

"Now my warrior, strike her beast with Atlantean Pike!" On command, the aquatic soldier hurled his pike towards the serpent, but the strike was absorbed into a big, magic cylinder and hurled back by an exact copy of the cylinder striking the man in the chest. **(ZLP: 2000-0) (ELP: WINS)**

"Don't you just love Magic Cylinder?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically.

"Welcome to the University. We hope that you will enjoy your stay and study here. You will receive your books later today," the fuming professor said in a tone that would scare even Obelisk the Tormentor.

Elizabeth, however, simply smirked and said, "It was a true pleasure to meet your acquaintance sir," while walking of the stage, towards her next exam.

_University Main Hall_

"Uhh, hello we're Cornwall Creek and Terence Brivon. We're here for the Entrance Exam," said Trunks to a very uninterested young lady behind a counter.

"Yeah whatever, go thru the left door. There are the written exams located. Then if you're done, you can go to the stadiums. There you will have to wait until your duel starts. And if you are finished, you will have to perform something that will be given to you then. Any questions?" She said while typing the boys' names and specifications out on her computer.

"Yeah, you wanna go on a date with me?" said Trunks seductively.

"Sorry, but I don't date Dragonball rip-offs.

"Who smell like peanut butter," she added as she sniffed the air.

"Hey it was either this, or chewing gum in my hair!" exclaimed an insulted Trunks.

"C'mon, let's just take that written exam," said Corny, while trying to drag a flailing Trunks with him.

"Fine, but it's your loss if you don't want to date me!" the lavender haired teen yelled.

"I'll see you later, Trunks Brief!" the girl said laughing.

"My last name is BRIVON!" yelled Trunks who was at the point of going Super Saiyan.

"C'mon, man. People are staring at us," said Corny in a last effort to prevent a massacre.

_Entrance Exam Hall_

"Would Tabitha Kennedy please report to duel stadium 3a?

"And could someone bring some sedatives to the main hall? We have a… situation there."

_'A situation? Ahh well, better get to my duel,'_ thought Tabby as she stood up and walked to the stairs… Where she got hit by team of doctors who were dragging a lavender haired boy tied to a brancard.

_'Ouch, that hurt.'_

_Stadium 3a_

When she got to the stadium, she was met by a crimson haired woman. "Hello, I take it that you are Tabitha Kennedy? I'm professor Sarah Tosurus and I'll be your duelling proctor today," said the woman.

"Okay, let's get started," said Tabby activating her Duel Disk. **(TaLP: 4000)**

"Sounds good, and since you are technically the challenger, I can start." **(ToLP: 4000)**

"Sure, I'll win no matter what!" said Tabby in confidence.

"Well, at least you have fate in your abilities. You'll need them after all as I activate Jurassic World!" yelled Tosurus as numerous palm trees and ferns grew around the two duelists.

"Pretty Field Spell you got out," said Tabby.

"Thanks, but that isn't all I'm gonna do this turn, I'll also summon Hydrogeddon!" A big mass of brown water spouted out of the ground and formed into a reptilian shape with four legs. **(Lv: 4 / ATK: 1600 – 1900)**

"I'll throw down a face-down and end my turn," said Tosurus with a smile.

"Okay, watch out, I draw! I'll set a monster on the defense and two face-downs. You can go now miss Tosurus," said Tabby.

"Well, that was a little less then I thought that you would do. But a good defense is often the best offense, so I'll need to watch out when I summon Black Veloci!" This monster looked more like a dinosaur then the monster she had summoned before. It was a black velociraptor with small purple feathers and yellow claws and spikes covering its body. **(Lv: 4 / ATK: 1800-2100)**

"Hydrogeddon, attack with Spiral Surge!" A blast of brown water washed away the four winged angel that appeared. **(Lv: 4 / DEF: 800)**

"I'll use Shining Angel's effect to summon… Shining Angel!" Another four winged angel appeared in attack mode. **(Lv: 4 / ATK: 1400)** It wasn't the only monster that appeared. One Hydrogeddon took its place beside its carbon copy. **(Lv: 4 / ATK: 1600-1900)**

"Now my Hydrogeddon, attack the Shining Angel opposite of you with Spiral Surge!" After the huge wave of brown water had past, another seraph had taken his kin's place opposite of the newest Hydrogeddon. **(TaLP: 4000-3500) (Lv: 4 / ATK: 1400) (Lv:** **4 / ATK: 1600-1900)**

"Okay, this is starting to get really annoying," said Tosurus as a torrent of water graced the field for the third time that turn, slamming into the four winged fellow.** (TaLP: 3500-3000)**

"Well, look at the bright side," started Tabby, "Jurassic World now gets properly watered. Oh, and I use Angel's effect to summon Phantom Beast Cross-Wing!" This monster also had four, golden wings, but they were connected to the eagle's body on the shoulders and hips. The beast-warrior lacked legs. **(Lv: 4 / ATK: 1300)**

"Okay, first you bump out fairies and now you come with a beast-warrior. Your deck really goes all over the place," said Tosurus. "Regardless, my Veloci will now shred it with Serrated Slash!" The velociraptor shot forward in excitement and bit the eagle clean out off the air, after which it simply swallowed the poor, avian creature. **(ATK: 2100-2500) (TaLP: 3000-1800)**

"Turn end. Show me something girl," taunted Tosurus.

"So you wanna see something? I'll show you something! I activate my face down Call of the Haunted to bring back my Cross-Wing and chain the Inferno Reckless Summon I set last turn to bring out two more Cross-Wings!" yelled Tabby as three of the golden eagles flew over in formation and started to circle high above the two duelists. Of course, another roaring Black Veloci emerged from the woods causing the other velociraptor to roar as well. **(Lv: 4 / ATK: 1300)X3 (Lv: 4 / ATK: 1800-2100)**

"I Release all three my Cross-Wings to Advance Summon Beast King Barbaros with his effect to destroy all cards you control!" The forest the two duelist stood in started to shake heavily as the three circling eagles turned into one big, round portal of light. From it, a tornado of sand shot down to the ground. Inside, a BIG, centaur-shaped shadow could be seen. The being roared and the sand shot outwards, striking and eroding the forest and the twin velociraptors. The Hydrogeddons, however, were simply evaporated, leaving Tosurus with nothing that could protect her from the behemoth's wrath... **(Lv: 8 / ATK: 3000)**

"I'm somewhat sorry to do this, but attack her directly with Rage of the Beast King! And please go a little easy on her." The Beast King brought his lance down and poked the duel proctor with it. **(ToLP: 4000-1000)**

"Well that was gentle," said Tabby in amazement. "You can go now."

"Thanks for going easy on me," said Tosurus. "But that won't mean I'm going to quit. I throw down a face down and summon Tyranno Infinity!" The dinosaur that appeared this time looked rather normal for a dinosaur, but it had two curved horns on his head. **(Lv: 4 / ATK: ?-0)**

"I end my turn" said Tosurus. _'This will decide if Tabby is smart and resourceful enough to pass this test.'_

"I draw!" said Tabby as she looked at her hand. Book of Moon, Emergency Provisions, Phantom Beast Wild-Horn, and Skill Drain. _'Strange, why did she summon a monster that relies on banished monsters for his power if she doesn't have any. Maybe that face-down will banish them when I attack. Oh, I know!'_ "I summon Phantom Beast Wild-Horn!" she said as a humanoid, tribal-looking moose with a horn shaped scimitar appeared. **(Lv: 4 / ATK: 1700-2600)**

" Cross-Wings are deemed so beautiful by the other Phantom Beasts that even their spirits inspire the other Phantom Beasts to fight their hardest. In game terms, they grant the Phantom Beasts on the field 300 ATK while in the Graveyard. Now, I'll set one card and use Emergency Provisions to send Call of the Haunted and my face down to the grave to get almost back at the starting amount." A face down appeared at her feet and started to turn into a cookie together with the useless Call of the Haunted. They floated into Tabby's hand, who ate them. **(TaLP: 1800-3800)**

"Ugh, one of them tasted like it had been buried underground and the other just didn't have any taste. Now Wild-Horn, attack Tyranno Infinity with Big Strike!" The moose shot towards the dinosaur holding its scimitar high in the air.

"I activate my face-down Survival Instinct and banish all four dinos in my Graveyard to gain 1600 Life Points and to let my Tyranno gain 4000 ATK!"

"Not if I flip Tyranno Infinity face-down with my Book of Moon!" reacted Tabby as Tyranno Infinity was clamped inside the Book of Moon, which turned into a face-down.

"NOOOOO!," yelled Tosurus whose Life Points got a useless boost. **(ToLP: 1000-2600)**

Wild Horn, who had reached the face-down Tyranno Infinity, easily cut the card in half and proceeded to the crimson haired female only to burp in her face. **(ToLP: 2600-0) (TaLP: WINS)**

"In case you're wondering, Wild-Horn inflicts piercing damage," said Tabby to a puzzled Tosurus.

"Welcome to the University. We hope that you will enjoy your stay and study here. You will receive your books later today," said Tosurus, who had calmed down a little bit.

"Okay," said a psyched Tabby to her new favourite teacher while walking of the stage.

_Infirmary_

"Finally, you woke up," said an annoyed Corny to waking up Trunks, who was tied to a bed, before leaving the room.

"Can you untie me, please."

A man in a suit walked in. "No, he can't Terence. In fact, we shouldn't even let you take the Entrance Exam. But, since you're technically not even in the University, I'll give you one chance to get in, but you will have to duel me, with my real deck, no test decks, no going easy."

Trunks sighed in relief. "Thank you very much, but even though I don't wanna be buzzkill, I have to ask: Who are you?"

"I am Chancellor Ben Gullies. I run the school and I'm the person who is responsible for everything that happens. I'll be expecting you to duel me in two hours in the main stadium," the man said before leaving the room.

Trunks smirked. "Well, this is gonna be fun... AND COULD SOMEONE PLEASE UNTIE ME!"

_University Main Hall_

'Man, they have some great coffee here,' thought Corny as he sipped his drink. 'Wait a minute, is that who I think it is!'

As Corny walked up to the teen, he saw that he was right. The teen was in fact Pryce Konami. After all, the red mohawk and the green eyes concealed by those small, jade glasses couldn't belong to anyone else. "Hey Pryce, how are you?"

As the green dressed boy turned around, a big smile and a small blush appeared on his face. "Hey Corny! I'm great. I just had my written exam and I think I did pretty well on it. Honestly though, I'm not even allowed to be here. I should be waiting for my turn to take the duel. I just sneaked past the guards to get some coffee."

"Well, I didn't expect you to do something like that," said Corny with a friendly punch to Pryce's shoulder.

"That isn't the only thing that you wouldn't expect to come from me," the red haired teen said as the small blush on his face became bigger.

"Yeah, I have the same problem."

"So..."

"Yeah..."

"Would Pryce Konami please report to duel stadium 2a"

"Oh, that's my cue! Wish me good luck!" the red head duelist said as he ran of to the stadium.

"Good luck," said Corny. _'I'm such an idiot.'_

_Infirmary_

_'C'mon, there has got to be a law against this!'_ thought a struggling Trunks as he tried to loosen the belts that kept him down. _'And besides, I'm not even violent! At least as long as people don't compare me to Trunks Brief. So what if I have the same hair colour! I know dozens of blonde people and none of them ever get compared to Naruto. So what if I have the same hairstyle as him! Trunks Brief has it grown out from time to time and the only reason I have it this way is that I like the cool breeze underneath it._

_'Wait, I'm losing the feeling in my butt!'_

_Duel Stadium 2a_

"Hello sir," said Pryce to a man with spiky, green hair.

"Hello sonny, there you are. Pryce Konami I assume? I'm Xander Pridestone, your duel proctor for this duel. Level 1, right?"

"Yeah, I don't want to make it to hard on myself. My main reason for coming here are the great acting teachers anyway," said a blushing Pryce. **(PryLP: 4000)**

"Really? I feel flattered, sonny, cuz I happen to be one of the acting teachers," said a smiling Pridestone. **(PriLP: 4000)**

"DUEL!" they shouted in unison.

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FAKE CARDS:

SEALED BEAST NUNURAO  
>Type: ReptileEffect  
>Attribute: Dark<br>Level: 2  
>ATK: 500<br>DEF: 800  
>Card Description: This card is considered a Normal Monster when in the Graveyard, on the field, or in your hand when you do not control a "Sealed Mantra". If you control at least 1 "Sealed Mantra", it is treated as an Effect Monster with the following effect:<br>* You may Special Summon this card from your hand.  
><em>This monster first appeared in the GX manga used by Amon. Rights go to the creators of the manga. The idea of a gemini styled usage of the Sealed Beasts was the idea of Cyber Commander.<em>

SEALED BEAST MOMAW SAIBON  
>Type: ReptileEffect  
>Attribute: Dark<br>Level: 6  
>ATK: 2,000<br>DEF: 1,900  
>Card Description: This card is considered a Normal Monster when in the Graveyard or on the field when you do not control a "Sealed Mantra". If you control at least 1 "Sealed Mantra", it is treated as an Effect Monster with the following effect:<br>* Once per turn, during your turn, you may destroy 1 face-up Monster.  
><em>This monster has been made by Cyber Commander. It appeared in his story Schadowchasers: Torment. All rights for it go to him.<em>

SEALED MANTRA  
>Continuous Spell<br>Image: A scroll spilling out of an old-fashioned scroll case.  
>Card Description: Increase the ATK of all Monsters you control by 0 points.<br>_This spell first appeared in the GX manga used by Amon. Rights go to the creators of the manga._

_A/N (again): Special thanks to Metal Overlord 2.0 for test reading the concept chap and giving me some advice as to improve what was already there. He was right, the first version of Tabby's duel was bad... well, not really bad, but not as good as this version... :)_

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Pryce: Seriously, you end it when it is starting to get good, huh?

Growing Pinecone: Hey, I have to break it of somewhere! Besides, people that are tired of reading can start next chap with new energy and can cheer you on full out.

Tabby: Pinecone does have a point in that. And he told me that he now has time to rework your deck. Space Fighters don't really fit you anyway.

Trunks: How long will I be tied up?

Growing Pinecone: At least next chapter.

Trunks: Aww.

Growing Pinecone: I'm not gonna get you untied faster if you go all pitiful.

Corny: *Crouches in a corner rubbing the floor with his finger with a dark aura hovering above his head* I'm such an idiot...

Elizabeth: Yeah, whatever... Can I do the preview?

Tabby: Only if you act a bit nicer to others.

Growing Pinecone: I agree with Tabby.

Elizabeth: Oh, hush it! YOU were the one who designed me.

Tabby: Okay you are not doing the preview! I choose Pryce.

Growing Pinecone: Wait! Don't I get a say in this?

Tabby: No... Okay, Pryce, take it away!

Pryce: **Will Pryce's small fish from the sea and sky be capable of besting the big dinos that rule the land and can Corny handle the complex strategy of a 60 card deck that he didn't even build on his own? See it next time on...**

All: **Yu-Gi-Oh! Search of a Son!**

Elizabeth: You'll have to pay extra if you want me to say that again... And did Pryce just tell the readers what deck he uses?

Pryce: Whoops.

Growing Pinecone: Pryce, don't worry I don't think the readers get the reference. But I'd love to see them try... *challenge!*


	2. Imperial Custom

_Well, it seems it has been a good year since I last threw more than a quick glance at this story. (Thanks to Sanokal for kindly reminding me of this story's existence with their review.) Therefore, a lot in the original story line and used format has also changed._

_For instance, Numbers WILL appear as Numbers. Chapter 4 will go into this in a bit more detail. I'll leave those explanations to Elizabeth. Another thing that has changed is that I will no longer list OCG cards at the end of the chapter they're used. To me, it seems you are all very well capable of Googling a card if you don't know what it does. Anime exclusives are a special case where it sometimes isn't very clear from the anime itself what the actual effect is of said card. Therefore, I will specifically list the exact effect I use for them. Mostly, the effects I use will be those from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia, but sometimes minor changes are needed._

_Also, this fic is set in neither the manga, nor the anime universe. This is to prevent me from being limited in what cards I can and cannot use. Strong and otherwise mystical cards such as the Machine Emperors and the Temporal Machine Gods are incredibly rare, however. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that, the stronger a card, the rarer. By that logic, cards on the Banned List are considered extremely strong, therefore, they're extremely rare, but legal for use._

_I think that covers the lot of it. If anything else arises, I will notify you at the start of the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!_

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Search of a Son  
>Chapter 2<br>Imperial Custom

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_Duel Stadium 2a_

"Hello sir," said Pryce to a man with spiky, green hair.

"Hello sonny, there you are. Pryce Konami I assume? I'm Xander Pridestone, your Duel Proctor for this duel. Level 1, right?"

"Yeah, I don't want to make it to hard on myself. My main reason for coming here are the great acting teachers anyway," said a blushing Pryce. **(PryLP: 4000)**

"Really? I feel flattered, sonny, cuz I happen to be one of the acting teachers," said a smiling Pridestone. **(PriLP: 4000)**

"DUEL!" they shouted in unison.

Pryce looked at his hand. "You can go first, sir."

"OK, very well," said Pridestone, before drawing. "I Set one Monster and a back-row card and let you have a go."

The two brown-backed cards appeared in front of the Duel Proctor.

"Very well," said Pryce as he slowly drew a card from the top of his deck. _'Great! I have just what I need...'_ "I Summon my Spined Gillman!"

For the second time that day, the blue Gillman jumped forward, holding his trident in front of him, aggressively. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 1300-1700)**

"And, because I just Summoned an aquatic Monster, I can Special Summon Shark Stickers from my hand!" Pryce put the card onto his tray and a small, purple visious-looking shark appeared from behind the Spined Gillman. It hissed and flapped its fins. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 200-600)**

"Now," started Pridestone. "I assume you'll be Xyz Summoning some big monster now?"

Pryce grinned. "Yeah, you would like that, wouldn't you? No, I'm going to attack with my Gillman now." He turned to the merman. "Gillman, ATTACK!"

The Spined Gillman jumped forward and jabbed the bulky-looking knight with the red scarf that appeared on the card. **(Lv: 4/DEF: 1200)**

"The monster you just destroyed," started Pridestone. "Is a fairly new one called Sandcloud Knight. When he gets flipped face up, I get to send an EARTH monster from my deck to the Graveyard. I choose Black Tyranno." A card slipped out of his deck and the teacher tossed it into his Graveyard.

Pryce smiled. "That's great and all, but that won't protect you from Stickers's attack...

"Go, Stickers!"

The purple shark shot forward and snapped his jaws shut on the Duel Proctors arm. "GAH!" **(PriLP: 4000-3400)**

"I hate Monsters with big teeth..." The green-haired man dusted off his coat and stood up straight. "So, anything else?"

Pryce smirked. "Well, yeah, I'm gonna use my two monsters to construct an Overlay Network!"

The two monsters in front of the boy shot up to the sky and turned into jolts of blue energy that started to swirl around each other...

**{3 + 3}**

_"When the emissaries of the deep are met with an unfaltering force, the ray of the black lance pierces through! Xyz Summon... Skewer... Black Ray Lancer!"_

The two jolts fused together to form a vast blue aura. The aura shivered and exploded, revealing the almost knight-like, black figure. The Black Ray Lancer brandished his red-tipped lance as two deep purple orbs orbited around him. **(Rank: 3/ATK: 2100)**

"I set one card and end my turn." The face-down appeared before the red-haired guy.

"Hmm, an Xyz this early, huh?" inquired Pridestone as he drew his card. "Too bad I'll have to trash it... I activate Jurassic World!"

The ferns and palm trees rose up around the two duelists as a volcano at the horizon completed the prehistoric scene.

"Welcome to the Jurassic World," started Pridestone. "Here, all savage beast from the past will get the edge, seeing as they are the most well-adapted to this kind of environment. But don't fear... Your dinosaurs will, too, get this bonus."

"Euh... I don't run any Dinosaur-type Monsters..." said Pryce as he scratched the back of his head.

"Hmm, that's a shame..." Pridestone pressed a button on his Duel Disk and his face-down flipped up. "I activate the Call of the Haunted! Now, rise, Black Tyranno!"

The very ground was torn open as a giant museum piece rose from its former resting place. The tyrannosaurus rex skeleton straightened its back as muscles and skin were pulled over the bones. It roared and the ground trembled under the incredible force of the new monster. **(Lv: 7/ATK: 2600-2900)**

Pryce took a step back. "Crap."

"Yeah," said Pridestone. "You could say that. Now, I'll also Summon Destroyersaurus!"

From the forest, another dinosaur appeared. It was bulky and had a blade on its snout. It roared, but it wasn't as intimidating as Black Tyranno. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1800-2100)**

"I won't like this just one bit..." Pryce bit his lip. He hated to lose his Lancer this early.

"Probably," said Pridestone before looking at the Black Tyranno. "Blacky, attack his Lancer with Direct Crunch!"

The black dinosaur stormed right at Black Ray Lancer, which tried to fend off the savage monster, but to no avail. Black Tyranno caught the Beast-Warrior between its jaws and crushed it, releasing the antimatter particles that imploded and were sucked back to the whatever location they originated from. **(PryLP: 4000-3200)**

"Destroyersaurus..."

More motivation wasn't needed for the fat dinosaur to stomp forward and bite down on the younger duelist. "HOLY MOTHER OF CHIPMUNKS!" **(PryLP: 3200-1100)**

As Pryce went to pick himself up, Destroyersaurus returned to his place beside the Black Tyranno, gleeful over his recent escapade.

"I end my turn with one face-down. Are you alright?" said Pridestone with a slight hint of concern in his voice as a face-down appeared before him.

"Yeah," said Pryce. "Just a little shaken, that's all. I've taken on a Dark Snake Syndrome duelist before so I'm used to ridiculously painful Solid Vision. I still wonder what was wrong with that chick to run such a sadistic card...

"Oh well... I draw," said Pryce. _'Awesome... Time to get this going...'_ "I start off with the Deep Sea Diva!"

From the surrounding forests, a beautiful voice rose that enchanted even the two savage dinosaurs. The Monster that followed the voice was strangely human. She had a pretty face and her lower body had been replaced with a fish's body. She had pink scales and a look of total confidence. **(Lv: 2/ATK: 200)**

"And I'll use her effect to Summon, from my deck, the Lost Blue Breaker!"

The diva was followed by an out-right odd creature. It was blue and had two serpentine heads that were attached to a bulky body. It seemed ill-suited for life on land _and_ in the water. It settled down next to Deep Sea Diva and listened to her singing, intently. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 1400)**

"Yeah, I know," said Pryce. "He isn't really... pretty... but he does the job, I guess...

"Now, I'm gonna activate my Monster Slots!"

In the middle of the field, a strange, green, troll-like device appeared on the field. It had a fairly square body and a BIG mouth. Speaking of its mouth, Monster Slots opened its mouth as wide as possible, revealing three spinning disks inside it. One of them stopped on a cartoonish picture of Lost Blue Breaker.

"Now," said Pryce. "This is gonna get a bit complicated, so allow me to explain. Monster Slots is activated by selecting a monster on my side of the field with a certain Level, like, for instance, Lost Blue Breaker over here who is Level 3. By Banishing a Monster from my Graveyard with the same Level, such as Shark Stickers, I get to draw a card."

The second disk stopped on a poorly-drawn picture of Shark Stickers.

Pryce smirked, seeing the card he had just drawn. "I now reveal to you the card I just drew and if it's a Level 3 Monster, I get to Summon it..."

The third disk on the Monster Slots stopped on a childish drawing of a winged turtle. The Monster Slots's eyes flashed and it shot a beam of light from its mouth. The beam of light formed a strange, bipedal tortoise with big, flapping wings. "Wingtortoise!" **(Lv: 3/ATK: 1500)**

"And now, for the main event, Synchro Summon!"

Deep Sea Diva turned into two Synchro Rings that flew up high in the sky, Wingtortoise quickly following behind. Wingtortoise turned into a set of three stars that aligned perfectly within the two Synchro Rings, causing a column of light to form through them.

**[*2 + 3 = 5]**

_"When brine is compressed tightly in the deepest trenches of the ocean, a beast of pure water is formed with the purpose of guarding the meek! Synchro Summon... Avenge... Sea Dragon Lord Gishilnodon!"_

The column of light turned into a column of water that exploded, sending water spewing outwards and revealing the water elemental standing within. It could be best described as a Blue-Eyes White Dragon made entirely out of water. **(Lv: 5/ATK: 2300)**

"I activate Lost Blue Breaker's effect! Since I control another being of the sea, I can Release it to destroy one Spell or Trap card you control. Now, Lost Blue Break!"

The awkward-looking Sea Serpent suddenly turned fierce and shot forward to Pridestone's Call of the Haunted. As it kamikaze'd with the Trap Card, Black Tyranno roared in terror as its skin and muscles dissolved into pixels and he was reduced to but a skeleton. The skeleton collapsed onto the ground and was reduced to dust that simply blew away with the wind.

"And now for the best part," said Pryce. "Gishilnodon has been angered by the loss of a meek one, like just now, he will do anything in his power to avenge Lost Blue Breaker. In game terms, his ATK becomes 3000 when a Level 3 or lower monster is sent to the Graveyard."

The Sea Dragon Lord looked down at Pridestone in fury. From the base of his neck, two tendrils of water appeared that took on the shape of the two heads that had once belonged to Lost Blue Breaker. All three heads roared. **(ATK: 2300-3000)**

Pridestone gulped and braced himself.

"Gishilnodon, attack Destroyersaurus with Furious Brine Spout!"

Gishilnodon raised its heads and fired three maelstroms from his maws towards the seemingly helpless Destroyersaurus. The dinosaur was lifted off its feet and carried away by the water, some of it crashing into Pridestone. **(PriLP: 3400-2500)**

Pridestone smirked. "Nicely done... Sadly, I'm gonna play my Miracle's Wake and bring back Destroyersaurus!"

The Trap Card flipped up and a ray of light shot out to the sky, guiding Destroyersaurus back to the battle field. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1800-2100)**

"You know," commented Pryce. "I've always disliked Miracle's Wake. I mean, I think it's kinda rude to just bring back a Monster someone destroyed with so much effort. At least just wait a single turn before bringing back old sores like that, right?"

"I see what you mean," said Pridestone. "But, alas, you can't have it all in life..."

"Yeah, I guess," said Pryce. "I set one card, by the way." The brown-backed hologram appeared before the teen and Gishilnodon lost its two extra heads. **(ATK: 3000-2300)**

"OK, you put me in a real pickle here, sonny," said Pridestone as he drew his card. "I Banish my Sandcloud Knight in order to Special Summon Gigantes!"

The ground was torn open and a giant ogre rose up from the ground. It was just barely dwarfed by the Sea Dragon Lord and it tore a tree out of the ground with his bare hands, presumably to function as a club. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1900)**

"And I'm going to activate my Fossil Dig to add a Level 6 or lower Dinosaur from my deck to my hand. I'll choose Black Stego." Pridestone's Duel Disk ejected the card and he added it to his hand.

"What," said Pryce. "No overly dramatic hologram?"

"Hmm," said Pridestone. "Guess the writer is getting lazy... Anyway, I'll also Summon the Black Stego."

From the forest, a stegosaur appeared. It just took his place beside Gigantes and took a bit of some nearby ferns, chewing on it, lazily. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1200-1500)**

"You might now wonder why I have assembled these monsters that are just too weak to beat your Gishilnodon," said Pridestone.

"Uh, no," said Pryce. "Not really. You're probably going to Xyz Summon a Rank 4 Monster with more than 2300 ATK. Am I right?"

"Uh, well..." started Pridestone. "Yeah... I'm using my three Monsters to construct an Overlay Network!"

The three Monsters in front of the Duel Proctor expanded into the familiar jolts of brown energy that shot up into the sky and came together, forming a cloud-like entity hovering high in the sky.

**{4 + 4 + 4}**

_"Trash from the past will come together to form a new future! Power is best when refined by previous use! Xyz Summon... Reuse... Recycle Rhinobot!"_

The brown cloud in the sky came crashing down like a meteorite, forming a deep, deep crater in the middle of the battle field. As the dust cleared, a robot rhinoceros was revealed at the bottom of the crater. Three brown orbs orbiting the Xyz Monster. **(Rank: 4/ATK: 2700)**

"Rhinobot, attack Gishilnodon with Horn Smash!"

The rhinoceros stormed out of the crater towards the Sea Dragon Lord, but, suddenly, a scarecrow built out of old scrap metal appeared in the Xyz Monster's path. Rhinobot smashed it but lost all of its momentum in the process, slowly slumping back to his master's side of the field.

"I really like Scrap-Iron Scarecrow," said Pryce, semi-mockingly. "How about you?"

Pridestone frowned. "So you judge my use of Miracle's Wake, yet you yourself use one of the most annoying defensive Traps out there?"

"Yeah, pretty much, I guess," said Pryce, blushing. "Sorry."

Pridestone smirked. "Your go, sonny."

Pryce gently pulled the top card from his deck. "I Summon Flyfang!"

Suddenly, a dimensional rift opened, a strange shark-like creature flying from it. It had a row of wing-like fins on each side of its body. It roared in bloodlust as it positioned itself next to Gishilnodon. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 1600)**

"I activate Monster Reborn and bring back Lost Blue Breaker!"

The strange Sea Serpent once again appeared on the field from the ankh.** (Lv: 3/ATK: 1400)**

"Lost Blue Break!"

The Lost Blue Breaker turned feral for the second time that duel and started randomly trashing different parts of the Field Spell. After a while, all the trees and ferns had been destroyed and the Lost Blue Breaker collapsed, dissolving into pixels together with what remained of the Jurassic World. The Sea Dragon Lord roared in fury at the loss of one of his subjects and once again grew the two extra heads. **(ATK: 2300-3000)**

"Gishilnodon, attack Rhinobot with Furious Brine Spout."

The Sea Dragon Lord shot its maelstroms at the robotic pachyderm, shorting its circuits. The antimatter that was released reacted with the water and caused an explosion that rocked the whole field. **(PriLP: 2500-2200)**

"Flyfang attacks directly with Jawsmash!"

The airial shark flew towards the Duel Proctor and smashed into him. "GAAAAAH" **(PriLP: 2200-600)**

"Now," continued Pryce. "I'll Banish Flyfang as per his effect, allowing my to activate Underworld Egg Clutch. When an emissary of the deep is Banished, I can take one of them from my deck and add it to my hand. I choose Deep Sea Diva."

Another dimensional rift opened and Flyfang flew through. A fish egg appeared and another of the feminine Sea Serpents appeared from it. It turned into pixels that flew into Pryce's hand.

"Turn end."

"Very well," said Pridestone. _'Well, I guess he has proven himself up till now. Now just try to give him something to worry about before he can finally finish this.'_ "I activate Pot of Avarice!"

The pink, goofy pot appeared and two cards flew out of it.

"I'll now Special Summon Gilasaurus!"

The brown raptor appeared on the field, opposite of the Spined Gillman that pulled itself from the Graveyard in order to fight the new dinosaur. It gave Gishilnodon another confidence boost. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 1400) (Lv: 3/DEF: 400) (ATK: 2300-2700)**

"Now I'll play Big Evolution Pill!"

Gilasaurus suddenly turned into a light entity that shrunk down into a small set of three pills.

"I Summon Ultimate Tyranno!"

One of the pills was picked up by a small, brown lizard that had suddenly appeared. When it ate the pill, it started to grow, and grow, and grow...

...Until it had reached the size and build of a big, intimidating Tyrannosaur. **(Lv: 8/ATK: 3000)**

"My Tyranno will now attack your Gishilnodon! Ultimate Crunch!"

"Scrap-Iron Scarecrow."

"Never mind... Ultimate Crunch on Gillman!"

Spined Gillman was crushed by Ultimate Tyranno's jaws.

"Turn end."

Pryce drew a card as Flyfang took back its place beside Gishilnodon from another of the dimensional rifts. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 1600)**

"I play Salvage to return Lost Blue Breaker and Spined Gillman from my Graveyard to my hand."

The two monsters burst from the ground and turned into pixels that flew into Pryce's hand.

"I Summon Lost Blue Breaker!"

For the third time that duel, the odd Sea Serpent appeared on the field, hissing. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 1400**)

"Lost Blue Break!"

The Sea Serpent turned feral once again and charged at the two pills that laid before Pridestone. After it ate them, it suddenly fell ill and dissolved into motes of light. Gishilnodon once again roared in anger as its subject was destroyed and grew its two extra heads. **(ATK: 2300-3000)**

"Gishilnodon... I'm sorry, but kamikaze with Ultimate Tyranno! Furious Brine Spout!"

The Sea Dragon Lord gave a slight nod before charging at the Ultimate Tyranno, engulfing the dinosaur and drowning it. At the same time, it was unable of keeping its structure and just evaporated...

"I'm sorry..." sighed Pryce before regaining his composure. "Flyfang, end it with Jawsmash, please..."

The airborne shark flew once again at the Duel Proctor, crashing into him and ending the duel. **(PriLP: 600-0) (PryLP: WINS)**

Pridestone smiled. "Well done...

"You have proven yourself worthy of Dueling education at the NDUODAE. Now you may return to the stands and wait for your turn to present the jury with a monologue. They will assess your acting skills. Later this afternoon, you will be given the chance to pick up your school uniform. Is that all clear, sonny?"

Pryce sighed deep. "Yeah, thank you..." He turned around and walked back to the stands where he sat down, hoping to see some nice duels. However, he didn't go unnoticed by some people...

Two rows behind the boy, Tabby and Elizabeth were looking down at the duels, not really all that impressed.

"...I mean," continued Elizabeth, "how is it even possible some people are having trouble against those Dinosaur test decks? It's not like they have the same swarming power as Blackwings or anything...

"Morons..."

Tabby dreamingly responded. "Yeah, sure, listen now... I am seeing some damn nice eye candy boyfriend material for me."

Elizabeth seemed fairly unimpressed. "You do? How nice. I just hope for you he isn't a complete moron like most of these people."

Tabby rolled her eyes. "Liz, with that attitude, you will never find a nice guy... or gal, I don't judge."

"Tabby, I'm not lesbian, really." Elizabeth quickly tried to change the subject. "So who is this 'eye candy boyfriend material'?"

"Oh, right," said Tabby. "You see that red-haired, shy-looking dude two rows in front of us?" She pointed at Pryce.

Elizabeth just threw a quick glance at him. "Him? Tabby, I thought you were more attracted to more well-built guys."

Tabby pouted. "I think he's pretty cute. Besides, you can't bet it all on just one type of horse, now can you?"

"Whatever..."

"Liz," said Tabby. "I'd hoped you would be at least a little more happy for me if I met a nice guy."

"You don't even _know_ him..." Elizabeth was slowly getting annoyed.

"Well, then," said Tabby. "Let's change that, then."

"Tabby, don't do what I think you're gonna-!"

"Too late." Tabby quickly jumped over the two rows of seats in front of her and landed next to Pryce, causing the young man to jump and crash into the ground.

"GAH!"

_'Nice way to make a first impression,'_ thought Elizabeth.

Tabby clasped her hands in front of her mouth in shock. "Oh my god, I am so sorry! I just noticed you were sitting there quite lonely and I wanted to start a little conversation but I didn't mean to pounce you like that!"

Pryce slowly picked himself up from the ground. "Ugh, it's OK. You didn't mean to scare me like that. I'm Pryce, by the way. Pryce Konami."

Realising she hadn't completely blown it, Tabby quickly lit up. "Thank you SO much for forgiving me. I'm Tabitha, but everyone calls me Tabby. I'm here with a friend of mine, Elizabeth. She's the angry-looking gal up there." She pointed at Elizabeth. "I may call her Liz, but don't do that. She hates it when people call her that. And she is NOT afraid of showing that."

"Uhh... OK."

"Come sit with us!" Tabby took hold of Pryce's hand and started pulling him towards the stairs.

_Entrance Duel Waiting Room_

"Would Cornwall Creek please report to Duel Stadium 1a?"

Corny shot up from his seat and picked together his deck. _'Kay, guys... you should now be able of taking on anything they throw at us... I just hope I got the whole balancing thing right.'_ He walked through the door and followed the signs with **'DUEL STADIUMS 1 THROUGH 3'**.

_Duel Stadium 1a_

Corny took his place across the Duel Proctor. The Duel Proctor was an elderly woman of an African heritage. She sat in a wheelchair and carried a mysterious smile on her lips.

"Hello, lad," said the woman. "I assume you would be Cornwall, am I right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. That will save us a lot of trouble. My name is Mary-Ann Brahm, but you are to call me Mrs Brahm."

"Yes, Mrs Brahm," responded Corny, remembering his good manners. "Can we get our duel started, please?"

"Very well," said Brahm. **(BLP: 4000)**

Corny smiled as he drew his opening hand. **(CLP: 4000)**

"DUEL!"

"Age before beauty," said Brahm as she drew first card. "I Set a Monster and a Spell or Trap Card and end my turn. You may go now." The two cards appeared in front of the Duel Proctor.

"Draw," said Corny as he took a look at his hand._ 'Hmm... I've had better hands before, but I might be able to get a ball rolling here.'_ "I Special Summon, from my hand, Guardian Eatos!"

There was a flash of light and a flurry of eagle feathers from which a young girl appeared in Native-American clothing and white wings appeared. She had a stern look on her face and a cap on her head like an eagle's head. **(Lv: 8/ATK: 2500)**

"Interesting," said Brahm. "A Monster that can be Special Summoned from your hand when your Graveyard is empty. Not often used outside of some special kinds of decks..."

"Uhh, right," said Corny. "I Summon Madolche Chouxvalier!"

A strange knight on a cute, blue pony rode onto the field. He wore a black coat and proudly held up a candy cane sabre. His steed neighed the cutest neigh a cute pony had ever neighed. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1700)**

"Now," continued Corny. "Eatos will destroy your face-down monster!"

"Threatening Roar..."

Eatos jumped up and flew towards Brahm's face-down Monster, only to be blasted back towards Corny's side of the field by a strong sonic boom.

Corny gritted his teeth. "I set one card and end my turn." The face-down appeared at his feet.

"Very well," said Brahm with a sly smile. "I set a Monster and two face-downs and end my turn." The three cards appeared in front of the Duel Proctor.

"Uh, OK," said Corny as he drew his card. Noticing what it was, his eyes lit up. "I activate a little Field Spell I like to call... Madolche Chateau!"

Around the two duelists, piles of sweets, desserts and cookies rose up, slowly forming what could be described as a courtyard around the two duelists. In the middle of the courtyard, a maple syrup fountain rose up. In front of Chouxvalier, a puzzle piece-shaped Oreo rose up. He jumped onto it, boosting his morale. **(ATK: 1700-2200)**

"Normally, I would now be allowed to shuffle all Madolche Monsters from my Graveyard into my deck, but I don't have any, so that effect is kind of rendered moot. Still, all of the Madolche will gain an extra 500 ATK and DEF while they are at their Chateau.

"Now, Chouxvalier," continued Corny. "Attack her newly Set Monster with Candy Cane Cut!"

Chouxvalier jumped off the Oreo and charged at the Set card. As he cut into it, a futuristic-looking Jar appeared that was reduced to pixels. **(Lv: 3/DEF: 500)**

Brahm smiled. "That was my Absorbing Jar. When flipped, it destroys all face-down Spells and Traps and every player draws 1 card for each card of their own cards destroyed. So I get two and you get one." She drew her two cards. Corny drew just one.

Corny gritted his teeth. _'Damn... That was my Madolche Manner... I needed that card...'_ He looked at his newly drawn card._ 'Well, at least I can use this little critter...'_ "I attack your other face-down with Guardian Eatos! Eagle Strike!"

The eagle girl flew up and sky-dived towards the Set monster. As it flipped up, a brown raptor was revealed with a tree trunk-like snout. As Eatos slashed it, it hit her with its snout, sending her crashing back to Corny's hand. **(Lv: 4/DEF: 1200)**

Brahm chuckled. "That was Hyper Hammerhead. It bounces back any Monster that battles it without being destroyed. It's quite annoying, and certainly a great way of testing an applicant's ability of dealing with Monsters you cannot attack head-on without any consequences...

"Of course, it's a pity it was attacked by a Monster you can just Summon back without any trouble, certainly in a deck like yours."

"Well," said Corny. "I'm not too disappointed by that, honestly. Still, I will now Summon Madolche Mille-feuille!"

A small, pink cat appeared next to Chouxvalier. It was sitting on a layered pastry in the shape of a puzzle piece. It took one of the strawberries on the puzzle piece and lazily threw it upwards. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 500-1000)**

"Mille-feuille," started Corny. "Is somewhat like the Marauding Captain of the Madolche. It allows me to Special Summon a Madolche Monster whenever it is Normal Summoned... and that includes my Madolche Puddingcess!"

The strawberry that was hanging in the air glowed brightly and exploded in an avalanche of desserts and pastries. From the giant pile of sweets that formed, a young girl emerged. She had long, wavy blond hair and an almost-completely white dress. A small white tiara sat on her head and she gave a cute giggle. **(Lv: 5/ATK: 1000-2300)**

"She gets 800 ATK because I have no Monsters in my Graveyard and another 500 from my Chateau," explained Corny. "I Set one card and end my turn."

_Stands_

"So..." said Tabby to Pryce. "I recently got my hair cut short, but I'm not really all that sold on it. What do you think? Should I get, like, extensions?"

"Well," said Pryce. "If you're not happy with this length, I guess you could get extensions, but I don't really know that much abou-"

"Uhuh, in that case, I'll get extensions... Maybe you could go with? I don't really like going to a salon on my own and you seem nice enough. Of course, only if you want to! I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do. Except if you would like to go with, then I would really think it's great!"

"Tabby," said Elizabeth. "Could you keep quiet for a second? I'm trying to see some duels... I want to know what the competition looks like. Though, there isn't really much interesting... The most interesting deck I can see is a Madolche deck, and that guy isn't really cutting it, yet..."

"Huh?" said Pryce. "Where is that Madolche duelist?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "From where we're looking, the top left Duel Field. Madolche Chateau is active. Learn to look first and ask stupid questions later. Saves me time."

"Uh..." said Pryce, unsure of what to make of this. "OK, thanks."

Tabby pouted. "Liz! This way, you aren't going to make any new friends, all right! Just be nice to Pryce, he's a very sweet boy and a good listener. That's more than you can say!"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Oh? So now I should be a 'very sweet boy'?"

"Uh, girls..."

"No," said Tabby. "'Very sweet girl' would work, too."

"...No..." Elizabeth simply stared at the ground, signaling this conversation was over.

_Duel Stadium 1a_

"I draw!" Brahm immediately showed the card to Corny. "I activate Fossil Dig to add a Gilasaurus from my deck to my hand." A card was ejected by Brahm's deck and she took it before slapping it, together with another card, onto her Duel Disk. "I Special Summon two Gilasaurusses!"

The two brown raptors ran onto the field through the sugar cotton gates. They roared in unison and glared at Corny's Madolche in pure bloodlust. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 1400) (Lv: 3/ATK: 1400)**

"I will continue with Monster Reborn to bring back my Absorbing Jar."

The torqoise ankh appeared and the high-tech Jar practically fell out of it. It grinned. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 600)**

Brahm chuckled. "Xyz Summon..."

The three Monsters in front of her turned into the brown jolts that shot up into the air. Circling around each other, they fused together into a brown cloud of crackling energy that shot down to the ground, forming a thick, brown fog that covered the battle field.

**{3 + 3 + 3}**

_"When the raw talent is refined, a new generation of great entertainers will be born. Improve yourself at the Neo Domino University of Dueling and Entertainment... Xyz Summon... Learn, Neodude, the Rock Star Raptor!"_

As the fog cleared, a strange Monster was revealed. It was a dinosaur, a raptor to be precise, wearing a brightly-coloured leather costume and carrying an electric guitar. It was backed up by a pair of spotlights that were aimed at it. Three yellow orbs were orbiting the Rock Star Raptor. It played a short guitar solo before yelling in the microphone in front of him. **(Rank: 3/DEF: 2500)**

_Stands_

_'This is getting interesting...'_ Elizabeth smiled.

_Duel Stadium 1a_

"Neodude," started Brahm, "Is the mascot of our university. He is a powerful card that Duel Proctors are to bring out when they have the needed materials already on the field, or cards that will allow them to bring Xyz Material Monsters out in their hand. You're lucky... This is the first time I've Summoned it today."

"I don't really feel all that lucky," said Corny.

"That's a pity," said Brahm sternly. "Now, Neodude allows me to detach an Xyz Material from him once per turn in order to Special Summon a Dinosaur-type from either my hand, deck or Graveyard. I will do so, and bring out Hyper Hammerhead from my deck!"

Neodude bit one of the orbs that were circling around him and swallowed it before roaring into the microphone loudly and giving another guitar solo. Suddenly, another of the brown, tree trunk-faced raptors ran onto the field and, oddly, applauded the Rock Star Raptor in adoration. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1500)**

"Oh... Kay..." Corny blinked in confusion.

Brahm scoffed. "Don't be so rude as to judge this poor Hammerhead. And I Summon the Black Veloci!"

The black raptor stormed onto the field. It noticed the Rock Star Raptor and nodded. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1800)**

"You can only attack Chouxvalier, and he is stronger than any of your Monsters right now," noted Corny.

"Yes," said Brahm. "I know that, but Black Veloci gains an extra 400 ATK when attacking, so he will be able of tying with Chouxvalier...

"Black Veloci, Serrated Slash!"

The velociraptor stormed forward and cut into the cute Madolche with its claws. It than roared in agony as it noticed the candy cane sabre sticking out of its ribcage. Both Monsters burst out in pixels simultaneously.

Corny took Chouxvalier from his Graveyard and added it to his hand. "Normally, I would now be allowed to shuffle Chouxvalier back into my deck, but Madolche Chateau allows me to add it to my hand, instead."

"Hammerhead attacks Puddingcess! Bashback!"

Hyper Hammerhead stormed forward and smashed its head into Puddingcess, however, she shoved a cupcake into his mouth, blowing him up from the inside. Puddingcess stumbled backwards and fell back into Corny's hand, but not before hurling a whole wedding cake at Neodude. **(BLP: 4000-3200)**

"When Puddingcess battles another Monster, one of your cards is destroyed!"

Just before the wedding cake would hit the Rock Star Raptor, Neodude used his guitar as a baseball bat and sent the cake flying.

"Neodude cannot be destroyed by card effects during a turn an Xyz Material was detached from him," explained Brahm.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?"

"I end my turn."

_'Damn, that Neodude sure is trouble... And I can't just go and Advance Summon back my Puddingcess. She wouldn't be capable of doing all that much with just 1500 ATK... I'll just have to go and destroy anything she Summons with Neodude and hope for the best...'_ "I draw," said Corny before drawing his card.

"I detach one Xyz Material from Neodude and Summon Hyper Hammerhead from my Graveyard."

The Rock Star Raptor devoured another yellow orb and played another solo before Hammerhead once again stormed onto the field in adoration. **(Lv: 4/DEF: 1200)**

Corny gritted his teeth. "Not again...

"I Special Summon Eatos from my hand!"

Once again, the eagle girl descended onto the field and gave Neodude a stern look. **(Lv: 8/ATK: 2500)**

"And I Summon Madolche Chouxvalier!"

The chevalier rode onto the field and jumped onto the Oreo that had suddenly appeared from the Chateau. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1700-2200)**

"Eatos, Eagle Strike on Hammerhead!"

For the second time that duel, the eagle girl sky-dived at the tricky raptor. She slashed it, but was knocked back to Corny's hand in the process.

"I switch Mille-feuille to Defense Mode and Set one card and end my turn.

The pink cat sat down and pulled out a small strawberry it held out as a sort of shield. A Set card appeared behind it. **(DEF: 300-800)**

"I draw," said Brahm. "I use Neodude's effect to bring out, from my deck, Tyranno Infinity!"

For the second time that day, the odd, horned tyrannosaur appeared. It roared in admiration and stared at the Rock Star Raptor almost fascinated. **(Lv: 4/ATK: ?-0)**

"I Release Infinity to Advance Summon Dark Driceratops!"

Tyranno Infinity was suddenly turned into a ball of light that suddenly exploded to reveal a strange derivative of a triceratops. It had wings and a crest of feathers. it roared fiercely and glared at Corny's Monsters. **(Lv: 6/ATK: 2400)**

"Driceratops attacks Chouxvalier... Dri-Bite!"

The strange triceratops flew, yes flew, towards the chevalier and bit onto it, destroying it in one quick move. **(CLP: 4000-3800)**

"I end my turn," said Brahm. "I suggest you end this duel fast. We're nearing the given time limit."

"Which time limit?" asked Corny confused.

"Didn't you pay attention during the introduction this morning? Every entrance duel has a set time limit to speed things up a bit and make sure all duels can be done today."

"Uhh," said Corny. "I wasn't here yet this morning. I had to wait for a friend of mine so we were a bit late."

"How rude of you two... Now, how about you take your turn quickly? We don't want to be suddenly cut off, now, do we?"

"No, ma'am," said Corny as he drew his card. "I activate my Set Book of Moon to Set Driceratops!"

The Quick-Play Spell flipped up and the holographic tome appeared and crushed the triceratops, turning it into a brown-backed face-down.

"Chouxvalier, Candy Cane Cut!"

The chevalier stormed forward and slashed the face-down Dark Driceratops. It shortly appeared roaring in agony as it burst into pixels. **(Lv: 6/DEF: 1500)**

"I end my turn."

"I draw," said Brahm. "I activate Pot of Avarice and return Black Veloci, two Gilasaurusses, Absorbing Jar and Hyper Hammerhead to my deck to draw two cards."

The goofy pink Pot appeared and spirits of the aforementioned Monsters flew into it. It shattered and two cards popped out of Brahm's deck.

"I Set two cards and Summon Black Stego."

The two brown-backed face-downs appeared and a stegosaur with a dark hue stomped onto the field. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1200)**

"I end my turn."

"I draw." Corny added the card his hand. _'What now? I first and foremost have to get rid of that Neodude Monster... And I have just the card to do it.'_ "I once again Special Summon Guardian Eatos!"

For the third time that duel, the eagle girl descended onto the field. She crossed eyes with Corny and gave a warm smile. _"Let's do this"_. **(Lv: 8/ATK: 2500)**

"I Release my Mille-feuille to Advance Summon... Madolche Puddingcess!"

The pink cat was suddenly enveloped by pudding that was leaking from the puzzle piece until the only thing left on the puzzle piece was a big hump of pudding. The pudding suddenly shot out in every direction as the Puddingcess was revealed. She straightened her back and gave a cute smile. **(Lv: 5/ATK: 1000-1500)**

"She won't gain the extra 800 ATK as a Monster exists in my Graveyard." Corny lowered his head. "I'm sorry...

"Chouxvalier, attack Black Stego! Candy Cane Cut!"

The chevalier stormed forward and readied himself to slash the stegosaur. However, it noticed the young knight and sat down just before the young boy cut its head off and reduced it to pixels. **(DEF: 2000)**

"When Black Stego is attacked, it moves to Defense Mode," Brahm explained. "Oh, and I opt to activate my Call of the Haunted in response to the destruction of my Black Stego to bring back... Hyper Hammerhead!"

Hyper Hammerhead suddenly jumped up out of the Trap Card and roared. **(Lv: 4/DEF: 1200)**

"Eatos," said Corny. "Eagle Strike, _please_."

Eatos let out an annoyed sigh and flew at the raptor knowing what to expect. She casually hit it with her wing and quickly flew back to Corny's hand before Hyper Hammerhead could get a chance to hit her.

"And now, it's time to say goodbye to your Xyz Monster... Puddingcess, Delicious Pudding!

"Oh, and I play Shrink!"

Madolche Puddingcess started to spin around and streams of pudding shot from her towards the Rock Star Raptor which suddenly had shrunk down to half its previous size. **(DEF: 2500-1250)** The pudding smashed into Neodude and he was quickly reduced to pixels.

"I destroy your face-down with Puddingcess's effect!"

Puddingcess suddenly stopped spinning and lifted up another wedding cake before throwing it at the face-down. As it made contact, it burst into pixels.

"I end my turn."

_Stands_

"Well," said Pryce enthusiastically. "That's Corny. Always holding out till it is the right moment to strike and leave his opponent with nothing."

"Interesting," said Elizabeth. "So you think he's pretty great, huh?"

"Corny? Yeah, he is. He always knows just what to do." Pryce looked at the ground. "I guess he _is_ great, after all."

_'I wonder if...'_ Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. _'If he is, I will have to warn Tabby that she might have to watch out with this guy.'_ "Well, it's pretty interesting you admire him that much."

"Liz," said Tabby. "What are you-"

"OK," said Elizabeth quickly. "Let's just see if this Duel Proctor will give Corny anything to put his teeth in."

_Duel Stadium 1a_

"I draw," said Brahm. "I activate Fissure to destroy your Puddingcess!"

Under Puddingcess, a crevasse opened, threatening to pull in Puddingcess. Suddenly, Puddingcess was enveloped by an energy bubble that caused her to float upwards, out of reach from the gaping crevasse. It closed in an almost scoffing way.

"How!" said Brahm.

"I activated Safe Zone and targeted Madolche Puddingcess. Now, it cannot be targeted by your card effects anymore, and is completely indestructible."

"Bloody...

"I end my turn. You can finish this now."

"Why, thank you." Corny drew his card. "I Summon Madolche Mille-feuille, but I won't activate it's effect."

Another of pink cats appeared on the field. It jumped onto the puzzle piece pastry that appeared in front of it and meowed. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 500-1000)**

"Chouxvalier, Mille-feuille, attack her directly!"

The two Madolche Monsters jumped forward and gently bumped into the Duel Proctor. They were royalty, after all, and would never cause a lady harm. **(BLP: 3200-0) (CLP: WINS)**

Brahm chuckled. "Very well...

"You have proven yourself worthy of Dueling education at the NDUODAE. Now you may return to the stands and wait for your turn to present the jury with a song. They will assess your musical skills. Later this afternoon, you will be given the chance to pick up your school uniform. Is that all clear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. You may go now. Come on! We don't have all day."

"Uhh..." said Corny. "OK, thank you for the duel." He turned around and walked back, following the signs that said **'STANDS'**.

_Stands_

As Corny found his way to Pryce, Tabby and Elizabeth, and they had gotten the introductions over with, a sudden voice cracked through the speakers.

"Attention, attention, dear applicants. We would hereby like to inform you that, after all the auditions and entrance duels, a very special entrance duel will take place. Originally, principal Ben Gullies was to part take in said duel. Only, due to unforeseen problems, he won't be able to. Now, we have arranged a very special duelist to take his place! We will just keep his identity a secret till the actual duel starts. Thank you very much."

_Infirmary_

Trunks, eager to get out of his miserable position, had somehow managed to topple over the bed he was strapped to. The only problem that had now arisen was that his head had gotten trapped in a small garbage bin - with chewing gum inside, of course - and he was still strapped to the bed. He had, however, heard the announcement.

"Thank you, mysterious voice telling me about my unclear future but I just want to get oooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuut!"

! #$%^&*()*&^%$# !

FAKE CARDS:

RECYCLE RHINOBOT  
>Type: Machine<br>Attribute: Earth  
>Rank: 4<br>ATK: 2700  
>DEF: 2000<br>Card Description: 3 Level 4 monsters  
>You can detach any number of Xyz Materials from this card to target one other face-up monster you control; it gains 500 ATK for each Xyz Material detached. During your End Phase, if this card has no Xyz Materials: Destroy the face-up monster you control with the lowest ATK, and inflict damage to both players equal to that monster's original ATK.<br>_This card was first used by Obomi in the ZEXAL anime. Rights go to the creators of the anime._

NEODUDE, THE ROCK STAR RAPTOR  
>Type: DinosaurXyz  
>Attribute: Light<br>Rank: 3  
>ATK: 1100<br>DEF: 2500  
>Card Description: 3 Level 3 Monsters<br>This card cannot be targeted by your opponent's attacks or card effects if you control at least 1 other Dinosaur-type monster. Once per turn: You may detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Dinosaur-type Monster from your hand, deck of Graveyard. During the turn this effect has been activated, this card cannot be destroyed by Monster Effects. When this face-up card is removed from the field; Destroy all Monsters Summoned by this card's effect.  
><em>This card was designed by me as a special card to be used for the NDUODAE entrance duel. You may ask for permission to use it, but you will receive another version with a different name.<em>

! #$%^&*()*&^%$# !

Elizabeth: Trunks, you're making a fool of yourself.

Trunks: So? I have to duel some mystery dude! That isn't something you can say!

Elizabeth: Like I care.

Witty Phantom: I'm too tired to write some sort of funny screen play right now so I'll just skip to the preview of the next chapter. Mystery Man, you're up!

Mystery Man: **Vill Trunks ve avle of standing a sjance against zese beasts of light? See it next time on...**

All except Elizabeth: **Yu-Gi-Oh! Search of a Son!**

Elizabeth: You didn't pay me extra...

WP: Don't care. Mystery Man, easy on the accent, please. It distracts…


	3. Photon Lead

! #$%^&^%$# !

! #$%^&*()*&^%$# !

Yu-Gi-Oh! Search of a Son  
>Chapter 3<br>Photon Lead

! #$%^&*()*&^%$# !

_Stands_

As Corny found his way to Pryce, Tabby and Elizabeth, and they had gotten the introductions over with, a sudden voice cracked through the speakers.

"Attention, attention, dear applicants. We would hereby like to inform you that, after all the auditions and entrance duels, a very special entrance duel will take place. Originally, principal Ben Gullies was to part take in said duel. Only, due to unforeseen problems, he won't be able to. Now, we have arranged a very special duelist to take his place! We will just keep his identity a secret till the actual duel starts. Thank you very much."

_Infirmary_

Trunks, eager to get out of his miserable position, had somehow managed to topple over the bed he was strapped to. The only problem that had now arisen was that his head had gotten trapped in a small garbage bin - with chewing gum inside, of course - and he was still strapped to the bed. He had, however, heard the announcement.

"Thank you, mysterious voice telling me about my unclear future but I just want to get oooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuut!"

"OK, sure," said a voice that had suddenly appeared in a foreign accent.

"GAH!" was Trunks first response. "Who are you?"

"I'm Korbinian Heimlicher. I just happened to walk down the corridor when I noticed you squirming and embarrassing yourself."

_'Well,'_ thought Trunks. _'What a way of mine to make a first impression.'_ "Dude, you sound like you have an accent. What is it? Russian or Polish or something?"

"It is German. Now, how about I at least get that garbage bin off dein head?"

"That would be nice of you, yeah," said Trunks.

"OK."

The metal bin was lifted up, giving Trunks a clear view of the young man in front of him. Korbinian Heimlicher was well-built with broad shoulders and a slim waist. He was muscular, but not buff. He had piercing, yet warm, blue eyes and blonde hair that was cropped fairly short, except for the bangs that fell over his eyebrows. He wore a white jacket with blue highlights.

"So..." said Korbinian. "Why are you strapped to this bed?"

"I got mad at the receptionist girl for comparing me to Trunks Brief from Dragonball."

"That's barely a reason to get mad, you know." said Korbinian. "I mean, you're kind of asking for it..."

"I don't care." Trunks pouted. "Now, can you remove these straps? I have places to go to now and everyone seems to have forgotten about me."

"Why, that's not very nice of them, now is it?" said Korbinian as he started to click open the locks on the straps. "So why are you in such a hurry?"

"Let's just say my entry at Neo Domino University of bladeebladeebla depends on it." _'And something much more important, too.'_

"OK," said Korbinian as he undid the last strap. "Here you go. I'm going to the cafeteria now and have a sandwich. Oh, and I have some preparations to do on my deck as well. Guess I'm pretty busy after all."

"Very well," said Trunks as he stood up. "I have to go now. See ya later!" He stormed off. _'I have to make sure I get to that entrance duel.'_

_Stands_

"So," said Corny. "I guess that means Trunks is fucked."

"Huh," said Pryce. "How so?"

"Oh, right," said Corny. "Trunks threw a little temper tantrum when we were getting signed up, so they had to sedate him and tie him to a bed. Principal Gullies said he would personally duel Trunks, but it appears he won't do it after all."

"How expected," said Elizabeth in a dark tone. "Gullies is once again too chicken to take action and has ran back to one of his ladyloves, quivering in fear over dueling some kid with an anger management problem."

"Liz..." said Tabby before realizing something. "Wait, Corny, did you just say he was dragged away?"

"Well, yeah," replied Corny, not knowing where this was going.

"Does he have pink hair?"

"Well, violet, yeah."

Tabby suddenly narrowed her eyes. "That means _he_ is the guy who got me ran over before my duel!"

Corny blinked. "Yeah, now that you mention it, he does have a tendency of getting people nearly killed, but he doesn't do it on purpose. He's just clumsy as hell.

"And incapable of staying out of trouble for more that a few hours, generally."

"Hey, guys!" yelled a voice coming from behind them. As they turned around, they noticed Trunks was running at them.

"I guess you're Trunks, huh," said Elizabeth.

"Yeah, I am," said Trunks, surprised. "How did you know?"

"Trunks," said Corny. "These are Tabby and Elizabeth. Pryce and I met them after our duels."

"You," said Tabby. "You got me run over!" She grabbed Trunks by his collar and lifted him up in the air.

"WHOA!" said Corny, Pryce and Trunks in unison.

"Tabby," said Elizabeth. "Leave the animosity to me and drop that idiot. He's not worth getting arrested for because of violence."

Tabby considered this and eventually dropped Trunks. "You're right, Liz." She then turned to the violet-haired boy on the ground. "But I'm keeping my eye on you." She then smiled. "I don't want any concussions again."

Trunks and Tabby then smiled at each other. "Very well," said Trunks. "I promise I shall never get you run over again. Purposefully or otherwise."

Tabby gave a quick giggle and then helped Trunks up. "Very well."

Pryce leaned over to Corny. "Uhh... Do you understand what just happened?"

Corny slowly shook his head. "I don't have the slightest clue..."

Pryce blinked. "Me neither..."

"Simple," said Elizabeth. "They're both the kind of person who solves petty arguments with a fake fight. Tabby must've forgiven Trunks a long time ago and was only puting up a show. She does that sometimes to keep things interesting, even though she sometimes forgets not everyone gets it at first and she could get into trouble doing it."

"That sounds pretty stupid," said Corny.

"Are you calling Tabby stupid..." said Elizabeth, narrowing her eyes.

"What? NO! What I meant was-"

"I do it sometimes, too," said Elizabeth.

"Oh, uhh, OK." Corny blinked a few times.

"So," said Tabby suddenly. "Does anyone want to go and grab a quick bite? I heard the cafeteria here has some mean sandwiches. Liz and I have already done our auditions so we're free to go with anyone who wants."

"Cool," said Corny. He then turned to Trunks. "Trunks, Principal Gullies told me you had to do your audition after your entrance duel. That means I have to do it then, too, since we audition together."

"Cool," said Tabby. "That makes four of us." She then turned to Pryce. "And? Will you come, too."

"Uhh," said Pryce. "Sorry, but I still have to do my audition now. I can try to meet up with you afterwards, but I'm not sure how long it will take."

Tabby pouted. "Ahw..."

"Sorry..."

Tabby winked at him. "That's OK. We can always pick a _date_ to go eat something, like, together."

Pryce blushed. "Uhh, sure."

Tabby brightened up immediately. "Awesome, guys, let's go!"

Elizabeth held up her hand. "I still want to go and have a quick word with Pryce. You can go ahead. I'll catch up with you in a minute. Is that OK, Pryce?"

"Uhh." Pryce was caught off guard. "Yeah, sure."

Tabby gave a confused look, but quickly shrugged it off. She then grabbed Corny's and Trunks's wrists. "And go!

"Elizabeth, don't take too long, please."

"Yeah, sure," said Elizabeth distantly before dragging Pryce away.

As Corny was dragged away by Tabby, he looked back at Elizabeth and Pryce. Elizabeth was mostly talking and Pryce was giving mostly short answers, looking more and more shocked by the minute. _'What are they talking about?'_ Not that Corny didn't have a faint idea, and if Elizabeth had been such good friends with Tabby for so long, she would have definitely noticed it, too. It only worried him what it would mean on the long run concerning several other... issues.

"So, Corny."

Tabby's voice quickly brought Corny back to reality. "Yeah?"

"Could you tell me something more about you, Pryce and Trunks?"

"Uh, sure." Corny blinked. "What would you like to know?"

"Oh, just general stuff," said Tabby. "Like, funny anecdotes, hobbies, relationships, favourite films, favourite foods, the usual."

By now, they had arrived at the cafeteria and were standing in front of a refrigerator filled with all kinds of sandwiches.

"Uh, well, none of us has a girlfriend, _that_ I can quickly tell you," said Corny as he took an egg sandwich from the fridge.

"Oh, OK," said Tabby. _'Jackpot.'_ She selected a chicken sandwich. "And have you guys ever done something incredibly funny?"

"Well," said Corny. "Mostly, it's Trunks who gets into trouble and Pryce and me who get him out of it. We once went on a camping trip with the three of us and we were all sleeping in the same tent as we'd figured it would save us time putting it up together. And Pryce woke up in the morning and he noticed Trunks was gone and-"

"Oh god," said Trunks. "Not this story, please..."

Corny ignored him. "And Pryce then woke me up. When we went looking for him, we eventually found him after an hour or so. You know where he was?"

"No," said Tabby with a small smile on his face. "But please tell me."

"We found him stuck in the toilet. Apparently, the door lock had gotten stuck so Trunks couldn't open the door any more. He had tried to squeeze himself through the gap under the door, however, he had gotten stuck so he was half in, half out."

Tabby exploded with laughter. "HAHAHA! Oh, the mental image! Haha..." She patted Trunks on the back. "I'm so glad we met..."

Trunks simply took a beef sandwich from the cooler and pouted. "Let's eat."

The three walked to the counter where they were joint by Elizabeth.

"How did you get here so fast?" asked Tabby.

"My talk with Pryce didn't take all that much time. We quickly came to an understanding," said Elizabeth lightly.

"Liz," said Tabby. "You didn't blackmail him, right?"

"No! Of course not," said Elizabeth. "Let's just go and eat."

"Uh, OK," said Tabby.

_Audition Waiting Room 3_

Pryce was looking at the monologue he was to perform without much attention. What Elizabeth had told him was running through his head. _'How did she know? How did she guess? Is it that obvious? And what am I gonna do about Tabby? It's just so confusing...'_

The door of the audition room opened and the severe-looking woman behind it was revealed. "Pryce Konami, you're up."

Pryce stood up and started walking towards the door. _'Here goes nothing.'_

_45 min later, Main Duel Stadium_

"Attention applicants and students! The duel that is about to start is a very special entrance duel involving a rude and unpunctional applicant. He will duel against NDU's finest student!"

Elizabeth, Tabby, Corny, and Pryce had met up again and had taken a seat in the stands. Trunks had already gone down to report.

"Why, that's not a very nice way of referring to Trunks," said Corny. "Then again, they're right..." he added jokingly.

"I really don't care whether he wins or loses," said Elizabeth. "This just seems like an excellent way of finding out who's the best of NDU."

"Why?" asked Tabby. "Are you planning on challenging him?"

"What?" retorted Elizabeth. "So half the student body will want to duel me to prove they would be the top student of this school? No thanks. I just want to know what the best student is capable of. If I know that, I will know how much effort I will have to put in my school work to be part of the elite, but still be uninteresting for the hopeless students who want to nothing but showing they're the best by beating the best."

"You know," said Corny. "That's a really good idea. Good luck with it."

"I don't need luck."

"EVERYBODY LISTEN! The duel is about to start! In the left corner, we have our challenger, our applicant, Terence 'Trunks' Brivon!"

Trunks walked onto the field. He was met by some cheers, but not that much.

"In the right corner, our best man, our elite, Korbinian Heimlicher! Please remember that, if Terence Brivon loses, he will be automatically excluded from the Neo Domino University of Dueling and Entertainment!"

A single word shot through Trunks's head. _'What?'_

The blonde duelist walked onto the field as he was met by an explosion of cheers. He waved at the audience with a confident smile on his face. "Hello, everyone! Are you having a good day?"

Another wave of cheers.

"Especially die ladies?"

A bigger wave of, mostly female, cheers. Even a few "Korbinian, please father my children!"s.

Trunks blinked. "You!"

Korbinian turned towards Trunks. "Ah, if it isn't Bed Strap Boy! How have you been doing?"

"Uh, well, good I guess. Can we please start?" **(TLP: 4000)**

"Natürlich!" **(KLP: 4000)**

"DUEL!"

"You may go first," said Korbinian.

"Uh, sure," said Trunks as he drew his card. "I Summon Tardy Orc!"

Even though a holographic template appeared that depicted the new Monster's stats, no Monster appeared. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 2200)**

"So where is your Monster?" asked Korbinian in a slightly mocking tone.

"Tardy Orc has to pay a small price for its high ATK. It can't attack the turn it's Normal Summoned. In holographic terms, he'll be running onto the field when I end my turn. It kinda confused me too the first time I Summoned when I was using a Duel Disk. Turn end."

At that time, a chubby, pale green orc with a pink bunny backpack ran onto the field, panting as he stopped and bent over. He threw Trunks an apologetic grin.

"Isn't it ironic you use a tardy Monster when you were fairly tardy, too?" asked Korbinian.

"Uh, well, yeah I guess."

"Interesting," said Korbinian as he drew his card. "I will Set one Monster and end my turn."

"OK," said Trunks as he drew his own card. "Watch out! I Release Tardy Orc and Advance Summon Doom Shaman!"

Under the panting Orc, a cabbalistic circle lit up, drawing the shocked Tardy Orc in. Then, a demonic Spellcaster rose up from the circle. **(Lv: 6/ATK: 2400)**

"I play Double Summon! Now, I may Gemini Summon my Shaman."

Doom Shaman's eyes lit up a deep purple and a dark aura enveloped the Shaman.

"I equip my Shaman with Bound Wand!"

Doom Shaman's skull-tipped staff was replaced by a fancier copy that also had a red crystal at the end. **(ATK: 2400-3000)**

"I activate Doom Shaman's effect and resurrect my Tardy Orc!"

Doom Shaman waved the Bound Wand and another glowing circle appeared on the ground. Tardy Orc jumped out of it and landed in the centre of said circle. He roared. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 2200)**

"Oh, and since he was Special Summoned, he can just attack normally." Trunks grinned. "Tardy Orc, Tourist Tackle!"

Tardy Orc ran towards Korbinian's Set Monster as the card flipped up to reveal a turtle robot. **(Lv: 4/DEF: 1800)** The Orc lifted it up and smashed it into the ground, reducing it to pixels.

"That was Electromagnetic Turtle. It's effect allows me to end the Battle Phase at any time during the turn it was sent to the Graveyard.

"I choose now."

Trunks gritted his teeth. "I end my turn."

"Very well," said Korbinian as he drew his card. "I activate Photon Sanctuary! I get to Summon two Photon Tokens as per its effect."

As the Spell Card appeared on the field, two orbs of light flew from it. They grew in size and floated in front of Korbinian. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 2000) (Lv: 4/ATK: 2000)**

"I Summon Alexandrite Dragon!"

A beige dragon settled onto the field, flapping it's wings and roaring. On it's hide, crystals were growing in all colours of the rainbow, reflecting the light of the Photon Tokens in all directions and all colours. It roared as the crowd went wild at this light show. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 2000)**

Trunks scoffed. "So? You just Summoned three Monsters with lower ATK than mine. And two of them can't be used as Xyz Material, so that plan would be a bust, too."

Korbinian simply ignored the duelist in front of him and picked one card from his hand. _"Light travels through the galaxy at an unmatched speed, taking on a new form... Shine... Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"_

The two Photon Tokens shot up in the air where they fused into a bright light. The light dimmed and a dragon with a blue hide was revealed. It was covered by blue and red armour. It roared. **(Lv: 8/ATK: 3000)**

"Whoa..." seemed like an appropriate response to Trunks, and half the audience at that. But then, Trunks realized something. He grinned. "Pretty fancy Monster you Summoned there... But he would only tie with Doom Shaman, and Bound Wand would bring it back immediately. And if you attacked Tardy Orc with it, I would just bring it back next turn with Doom Shaman."

Korbinian chuckled. "Galaxy-Eyes attacks Doom Shaman. Photon Wormhole!"

The huge dragon radiated a bright light. The light engulfed Doom Shaman, causing it to lose it's concentration and drop the Bound Wand. The cabbalistic circle Tardy Orc was standing on faded and the Orc dissolved into pixels. The light intensified. After a while, it faded and revealed that both Galaxy-Eyes and Doom Shaman had disappeared.

"What..."

"Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon can banish itself and the Monster it's battling until the end of the Battle Phase," said Korbinian. "Alexandrite attacks you directly! Alexandrite Stream!"

Alexandrite Dragon opened its maw and shot a rainbow of colours at Trunks. Trunks got knocked back a few feet and landed with a loud thud. **(TLP: 4000-2000)**

"I end my Battle Phase," said Korbinian.

A worm hole appeared in the sky and Doom Shaman fell through. He didn't have his dark aura, signalling his status as a Normal Monster. Doom Shaman looked up and snarled at the Galaxy-Eyes that slowly descended from the worm hole. **(Lv: 6/ATK: 2400) (Lv: 8/ATK: 3000)**

"I Set a card and end my turn." Korbinian threw the card in his Duel Disk and the brown-backed face-down appeared at his feet.

Trunks gritted his teeth. His entire set-up had been destroyed with just one card, not to mention his Life Points were halved already. He would seriously have to step up his game if he wanted to stand a chance against this guy. "I draw! I Summon Gagaga Magician!"

In a small thunder storm, the Gagaga Magician appeared. He wore dark clothing and a chain floated around him. His face was obscured by his scarf. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1500)**

"I'll change Gagaga Magician's Level to 6 with his effect and construct an Overlay Network with my two Monsters!"

Gagaga Magician casted a quick spell and the two Spellcasters turned into dark jolts of energy. They circled around each other and fused together, forming a dark, yet attractive aura in the sky. **(Lv: 4-6)**

**{****6 + 6****}**

_"Lovely, pretty, fancy magic! Become one and spread your unending love magic... Enchant... Magi Magi - Magician Gal!"_

The floating aura dispersed and revealed the cute girl floating in the sky. She vaguely looked like the Dark Magician Girl and giggled. She was met by cat calls from a large part of the male audience. **(Rank: 6/ATK: 2400)**

"Pretty Monster you got out," said Korbinian smiling. "Are you hoping I won't destroy a female Monster?

"Still, it's pretty low of you to throw such a cute Monster at my Galaxy-Eyes. My dragon is simply too strong for that monster..."

Trunks narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't matter that Galaxy-Eyes is stronger than Magi Magi. I use my Generation Force to add Xyz Colosseum to my hand!"

He activated the card and his deck ejected the Field Spell.

"But before I activate my Colosseum, I will detach an Xyz Material from Magi Magi and take control of your Galaxy-Eyes!"

Magi Magi absorbed one of the dark orbs that orbited her and send a powerful love spell towards Galaxy-Eyes.

"I activate Mystic Wok and get rid of my Galaxy-Eyes in order to gain Life Points equal to its ATK!"

Galaxy-Eyes dispersed into photons that were sucked into Korbinian's body. Magi Magi's love spell was left no target and simply evaporated.** (KLP: 4000-7000)**

"I activate Xyz Colosseum!" Trunks's Field Spell slot opened and the violet-haired young man put the card in. Around the two duelists, a green metal coliseum rose up, the night sky above. Magi Magi was strengthened by the galactic radiation.** (ATK: 2400-2600)**

"Magi Magi attacks Alexandrite Dragon! Lovely Burning!"

From Magi Magi's sceptre, dark pink flames rose up. Magi Magi blasted them at the crystalline dragon, which was destroyed. **(KLP: 7000-6400)**

"Turn end." Trunks smiled. "What are you gonna do now, huh?"

Korbinian drew his card. "Simply this. I Set a Monster und a back-row card. Turn end."

The two cards appeared at Korbinian's feet, one horizontal, one vertical.

"What? Running scared?" said Trunks as he drew his next card and added it to his hand. "Ha! I Summon the Gagaga Kaiser!"

Crackling energy accompanied the arrival of the new Monster. Gagaga Kaiser wore a white suit and a black cape and his face was obscured by a scarf. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 1800)**

"I'm simply waiting for the right moment to strike, setting up my next move carefully and thinking multiple turns ahead," said Korbinian with his hand on his hip. "You must learn to think ahead."

"I do?" said Trunks annoyed. "Well, how about I activate Gagagarevenge and bring back my Gagaga Magician!"

A coffin rose up from the ground. The lid was blown off and Gagaga Magician was revealed standing inside the coffin. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1500)**

"I activate Kaiser's effect and banish Tardy Orc from my Graveyard to raise it's level to 4!"

Gagaga Kaiser was enveloped in light and obtained an aura in the shape of Tardy Orc. **(Lv: 3-4)**

"Let me guess," said Korbinian. "Rank 4 Xyz Summon?"

"Hell yeah," said Trunks with a wide grin on his face. "I use my two Monsters to construct an Overlay Network!"

The two Gagaga Monsters turned both turned into a jolt of energy, Magician purple and Kaiser brown. The two jolts shot up in the sky and spiralled together. The ball of brown energy that formed at this, crashed into the ground and exploded.

**{****4 + 4****}**

_"When life is compressed under a highest pressure, a diamond will be disgorged... Crash... Kachi Kochi Dragon!"_

As the energy faded, a diamond structure was revealed. It seemed to have a dragon's head and a claw, but was fussed into the ground besides that. Two orange orbs orbited it. It roared. **(Rank: 4/ATK: 2100-2300)**

"Because a Monster equiped with Gagagarevenge was used in an Xyz Summon," said Trunks. "All of my Xyz Monsters gain 300 ATK."

Magi Magi and Kachi Kochi Dragon were shrouded in a deep yellow aura. **(ATK: 2600-2900) (ATK: 2300-2600)**

"Kachi Kochi Dragon attacks your Set Monster with Kachi Kochi Crash!"

The crystal dragon roared and smashed its claw into the ground. A crevasse was torn open and sucked in Korbinian's Set Monster, which was briefly revealed to be Morphing Jar. **(Lv: 2/DEF: 600)**

Both players discarded what little they still had left in their hand and drew a new hand.

"I activate Kachi Kochi's effect. If he destroys a Monster, I can detach one Xyz Material and allow him an extra attack!

"Kachi Kochi Crash!"

The crystal dragon devoured one of the orbs that were flying around it and opened another crevasse, roaring. Korbinian jumped up and skilfully dodged the gaping tear in the earth. The crevasse closed and Korbinian landed safely. **(KLP: 6400-3800)**

"What," said Korbinian mockingly. "Is that all you've got?"

Trunks gritted his teeth. "Of course not. Magi Magi, attack with Lovely Burning!"

Magi Magi launched her dark pink flames at the German youngster, but Korbinian dodged it and even winked at the Spellcaster. **(KLP: 3800-1900)**

Oh, never mind!," said Trunks in a frustrated tone. "I Set two cards and end my turn."

As the two cards appeared in front of Trunks, Korbinian drew his card. "I activate Pot of Avarice to return Galaxy-Eyes, Electromagnetic Turtle, Alexandrite Dragon, Morphing Jar and Kuraz the Light Monarch from my Graveyard to my deck and draw two cards!"

As Korbinian's Duel Disk ejected the two cards from his deck, Korbinian took them into his hand. 'Jackpot.' "I play Polymerization to fuse Photon Crusher and Photon Thrasher into Twin Photon Lizard!"

The two Photon Monsters appeared on the field, one green, the other blue, and were sucked into a vortex. From the vortex, a dragon with two heads appeared. It had bat-like wings and a serpentine trunk and roared in fury.** (Lv: 6/ATK: 2400)**

"I Release Twin Photon Lizard to activate its effect. I Summon, from my Graveyard, Photon Crusher and Photon Thrasher!"

Twin Photon Lizard dissolved into two groups of photons. One of them clustered together into a bulky warrior with green armour and a two-sided club, Photon Crusher. The other turned into a slimmer warrior with blue armour and a big blade, Photon Thrasher. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 2000) (Lv: 4/ATK: 2100)**

"What?" said Trunks mockingly. "Which Xyz could you possibly be Summoning that can compete with my Monsters with those two?"

"I think you mean 'with those three'," said Korbinian as he took one card from his hand and put it on his Duel Disk. "Guardian of Order!"

In a flash of light, a grand warrior in white and gold armour appeared. **(Lv: 8/ATK: 2500)**

Trunks first gulped at the appearance of this Monster, but then realise something. "Ha! Those three aren't the same Level! You couldn't use them all in an Xyz Su-"

"I activate Galaxy Queen's Light and select an Level 7 or higher Monster, Guardian of Order, to make all Monsters I control its Level."

A regal-looking woman rose up behind Korbinian and casted a spell that bathed the entire field in light. Four level stars appeared above both Crusher and Thrasher before being absorbed into their bodies. Crusher and Thrasher roared. **(Lv: 4-8) (Lv: 4-8)**

"Crap," said Trunks. He knew of some Rank 8 Monsters, and none of them were particularly nice to face... More importantly, they were all strong enough to destroy both of his Monsters.

"Not so tough now, are you?" said Korbinian with a sly smirk. "Now, there are two Monsters in my Extra Deck I can Summon with these Monsters. One of them would mean your immediate defeat. The other is strong, but will still give you a sporting chance. Which one will it be?"

_'Is this guy kidding me?'_ thought Trunks. "I pick the one that will still leave me a chance."

"Pity," was Korbinian's response. "I was hoping I could end this duel quickly. Oh well...

"I use my three Monsters to construct an Overlay Network!"

The three Monsters in front of Korbinian turned into yellow jolts of pure light. They shot up into the sky and spiralled.

**{****8 + 8 + 8****}**

_"When the light has died it out, it is time for a new source... Rule the plains with your endless gaze... Provide... Photon Supplychyderm!"_

The jolts came together and crashed into the earth. A loud explosion of light later, the new Monster was revealed. It was a grand elephant composed out of light, golden Indian armour was latched onto the pachyderm. Its ears were huge, even for elephant standards. It looked at Trunks and his Monster with a look of... pride? It was hard to tell. Three of the golden orbs were orbiting it, obviously annoying it. **(Rank: 8/ATK: 2800-3000)**

"I use Magical Space Typhoon to destroy that face-down," said Korbinian as a sudden gust swept the card away.

_'Crap,'_ thought Trunks. _'That was Gagagashield. It would have kept Magi Magi safe... but he foresaw it, somehow...'_

"Supplychyderm attacks Magi Magi. Trunk of Light!"

The light elephant suddenly swepped its head up, throwing its mighty trunk in the air. The trunk increased in length and Supplychyderm used it to smash away Magi Magi. **(TLP: 2000-1900)**

"How ironic," said Korbinian, "that the attack that just destroyed most of your set up shares its name with you..."

Trunks looked at the German youngster and blinked. "You destroy one of my strongest Monsters and that's your reaction!"

"Ja."

"Uhuh... Anything else this turn?"

Korbinian smirked. "Yes. I will activate Supplychyderm's effect and detach one Xyz Material to add one Photon Monster from my Graveyard to my hand and draw a card." He took the Photon Thrasher from under his Xyz's card and threw it into his Graveyard slot, before taking it back again. He also drew a card. "Aber schade. I now have to take one card from my hand and send it right back to the deck." He did so. "Turn end."

Trunks breathed in. It was obvious this Supplychyderm was a big thread. It could, on the long term, compensate for the troubles Korbinian had put into Summoning it. And it was the strongest Monster on the field. "I draw." As Trunks added the card to his hand, he realised that he would have to go on the defensive for now, as much as he hated defending. He had no choice as it was. "I Set a Monster and a face-down, switch Kachi Kochi to defence, and end my turn.

The two brown-backed cards appeared in front of Trunks and Kachi Kochi Dragon held its claw in front of its face while the crystals around it turned dull. **(DEF: 1300)**

"What happened to your fiery bravura?" asked Korbinian as he drew. "I thought you were going to strike me full on. I'm slightly disappointed by you."

"Uh," said Trunks defensively. "You're the one who has used two of his turns this duel to just Set some cards!"

"That was to set up for a bigger attack. What you're doing is just hiding."

_'Crap, he's right...'_

"But we're not here to accuse each other of stuff. "I shall activate my Supplychyderm's effect!"

As the light elephant absorbed a glowing orb with his trunk, Korbinian repeated his previous actions.

"I Release my Supplychyderm to Advance Summon... Kuraz the Light Monarch!"

The elephant dispatched into a swirling vortex of light. The vortex exploded and revealed the great form of the Light Monarch. **(Lv: 6/ATK: 2400)**

"I use Kuraz's effect to destroy your two Monsters."

Trunks was speechless as Kuraz shot two spears of light at Kachi Kochi Dragon and his flipped up Sangan. The two were quickly destroyed. He quickly added a Monster from his deck to his hand by the effect of Sangan, shuffled his deck, and drew the two card he got from Kuraz's effect.

"But, why?" said Trunks. "You might have opened a clear way to my Life Points, but you can't attack with Kuraz."

Korbinian ignored Trunks. "I will use my Monster Reborn to bring back Twin Photon Lizard and use my two Monsters to construct an Overlay Network."

The twin-headed dragon flew from the ankh and quickly, like Kuraz, got reduced to a jolt of golden energy. Both jolts shot up into the sky and fused together.

**{****6 + 6****}**

_"The striking star will crash all weak attemps... Bounce... Photon Strike Bounzer!"_

The big yellow jolt exploded and revealed a strange-looking Warrior. It looked somewhat bestial and was covered in red armour. Two orbs orbited it. **(Rank: 6/ATK: 2700-2900)**

"Strike Bounzer," said Korbinian with a sly smile while the audience went wild at the coming conclusion. "Attack directly. Strike Bounce!"

Strike Bounzer jumped forward in rage as he readied his claw to cut into Trunks. As he reached Trunks, an explosion of light rocked the field, obscuring Trunks's loss from the audience.

_Stands_

Corny sighed and looked down. "That's it. Trunks... lost..."

"Don't be so sure," said Elizabeth. "I won't believe it until I've seen a Life Point gauge hitting 0."

Pryce sighed. "I'm glad you put so much trust into Trunks, but there isn't much he could've done to stop that attack. I doubt he could've taken precautions in case all his Monsters would be destroyed."

Elizabeth frowned. "It's not that I have any faith in that rookie. I just won't take any premature conclusions about the would-be end of a duel where nothing was what it seemed anyway." She looked at the smoke that was clearing. "Let's take a look..."

_Duel Stadium_

As the smoke cleared, an odd scene was revealed. Instead of a defeated young man, you could see Trunks standing behind a huge holographic card. A card that Photon Strike Bounzer was desperately trying to rip apart. Eventually, the Xyz gave up and jumped back to Korbinian's side of the field.

Everyone was dumbstruck as Trunks muttered two single words. "Defense Draw." He drew his card and added it to his hand.

Korbinian smiled. "Very well...

"I end my turn. But please remember that, once per turn, my Strike Bounzer can negate one of your Monster's effects and deal you 1000 points of damage in the process. Show me what you've got left."

Trunks smiled as he drew his card. "It was nice while it lasted, but it's time to end this. I activate Monster Reborn to bring back...

"Gagaga Magician!"

An ankh appeared and the chain-wielding Spellcaster jumped from it. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 1500)**

"Next, I Summon Gagaga Girl!"

In a flurry of rose petals, a young blonde girl appeared. She wore dark clothing and was, apparently, texting intently. **(Lv: 3/ATK: 1000)**

Korbinian rose his eyebrow. "I've never seen that card before."

"Really? Well, in that case I will tell you that she reduces one of your Monster's attack to 0 if she's used in an Xyz Summon together with another Gagaga Monster, like my Magician here." said Trunks. _'And something else, but you'll find out the hard way.'_

Korbinian chuckled. "Really? Well, you would need to get the chance of getting to Xyz Summon a Monster anyway. And I still have my face-downs. You're not the only one who can use Traps to safe themselves of certain loss."

Trunks gritted his teeth. _'He's right. If I attack him outright, I might lose my Monster and my only hope for victory with it. And if so, I will lose my only lead of getting Mum back...'_ "I activate Gagaga Magician's effect to change its Level to 3!"

Gagaga Magician started casting a spell, but Photon Strike Bounzer grasped one of the flying orbs out of the air and shot blinding flames of pure light at Gagaga Magician, disrupting its spell and hitting Trunks in the process. **(TLP: 1900-900)**

Korbinian grinned. "I guess that was all?"

Trunks grinned. "No, in fact, you took the bait and fell for my own trap. Gagaga Girl over here has another effect, you see." He took a semi-dramatic pause. "An effect that allows her to copy the Level of a face-up Gagaga Monster I control. So now she goes up a Level to Level 4!"

Gagaga Girl giggled and rushed at Gagaga Magician. She took his arm in hers and pressed the startled Spellcaster against herself. She smiled and took a photo of them together on her cellphone. She giggled again and gave Gagaga Magician a quick kiss on his cheek, making his blush - even through his scarf. **(Lv: 3-4)**

"Now..." said Trunks. "I shall use my two Monsters to create an Overlay Network!"

The two Gagaga Monsters held each other's hand and jumped up into the sky were they turned into a pulsating purple jolt of energy. The jolt spiralled down to earth.

**{****4 + 4****}**

_"In the old days of the Wild West, comrades were the only way to survive... Rise now, brother of the good old days... Shoot... Gagaga Gunman!"_

The purple jolt hit the ground and exploded, revealing a tall man in old Western clothing. He wore a cowboy hat and his face was covered by a scarf. Two brown orbs, well, orbited around him. The remnants of the purple jolt suddenly turned into rose petals that spiralled towards Photon Strike Bounzer, stunning it. **(Rank: 4/DEF: 2400) (ATK: 2900-0)**

Trunks looked at his card in doubt. _'This way, I can end the duel in two turns while keeping a stable defence. I can't risk running into a Sakuretsu Armor or a Mirror Force at this stage of the duel...'_ "I activate Gunman's effect. Now, I detach one Xyz Material to hit you with 800 points of damage!"

Gagaga Gunman grasped one of the two orbs in his gun and slowly took aim at Korbinian, leaving no room for error. Finally, he shot, yet he missed. Korbinian had somehow managed to dodge the bullet, but still took the damage. **(KLP: 900-100)**

"Turn end."

"I draw..." Korbinian smiled. "It was nice while it lasted but this is the end."

"What do you mean by _that_?" asked Trunks.

"The thing is, I will now use what I have in my hand to Xyz Summon a Monster called Photon Papilloperative. Its effect allows me to switch your Monster to Attack Position and reduce its attack a bit. Then, I will activate my face-down Photon Trident, taking away your option of activating Spells and Traps."

A gasp ran through the audience. This was it. The end. Korbinian was confident enough to declare his exact method of victory for everyone to know. This time, he was certain his opponent couldn't do anything about it.

Trunks's shoulders trembled. Was this truly the end? Had he come here for nothing? He thought back to the day this had all begun.

_A seven-year-old boy holding the hand of his mother tightly. Rain streaming down and drenching them to the bone. They were hurrying through an alley. They ran into a broad, tall man whose features were obscured by a trench coat and a hat. He kicked the boy in his stomach and swept the woman off her feet, hanging her over his shoulder as he left. The woman cried, but the man just kept walking at a brisk pace. By the time the boy had recovered from the man's kick, the two were long gone._

A small tear dripped down Trunks's cheek. He quickly wiped it away before anyone could notice.

But Korbinian had noticed. _'Interesting... One doesn't simply cry over not getting into a university... If I force a draw, I can find out this kid's deal...'_ "I Special Summon, from my hand and by destroying Photon Strike Bounzer, Overlay Brute!"

The Photon Strike Bounzer roared out in agony as he caught fire. The flames exploded and revealed a brute ogre that was shrouded in flames. Its had was comically small and it held a large club in his hand. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 2400)**

"Now, Overlay Brute's effect allows me to detach one Xyz Material on your side of the field to force both of us to Special Summon one low-Level Monster from our hands. I Summon Photon Crusher!"

The brute threw its club at Gagaga Gunman, hitting the brown orb and causing an explosion. By the time the smoke had cleared, Photon Crusher had appeared on Korbinian's field. Same for the Breaker, the Magical Warrior that was standing next to Gagaga Gunman, defensively. **(Lv: 4/ATK: 2000) (Lv: 4/DEF: 1000)**

"I shall use my two Monsters to create an Overlay Network!"

Overlay Brute and Photon Crusher both turned into jolts of light, Brute's red and Crusher's yellow. The jolts spiraled together, forming a red and yellow tempest.

**{****4 + 4****}**

_"Light travels thousands of miles across the earth, following the butterflies as they flutter through the sky... Each and every of their wingflaps can create a tornado... Fly... Photon Alexandra Queen!"_

The tornado of energy burst open, revealing a strange, insectoid Monster. Its body was very insectoid, with a large abdomen and an exoskeleton. Its legs were long and thin, brushing the ground as Photon Alexandra Queen floated in the air. Its wings were huge, stretching from one side of the Duel Stadium, to the other. Two yellow orbs made even bigger orbits around the Monster. **(Rank: 4/DEF: 1200)**

Trunks was shocked. "What? I thought you were going to Summon Papilloperative!"

Korbinian gave a small grin. "Plans changed. I activate Photon Alexandra Queen's effect! Butterfly Effect!"

Photon Alexandra Queen flew up and grasped the two yellow orbs in her claws. She slowly started to fall apart into pixels. The pixels landed on Trunks's Monsters, causing them to cry in agony as they slowly but surely turned into the same pixels...

"Photon Alexandra Queen detaches two Xyz Materials to return all Monsters on the field to our hands. If that is done, we take damage equal to our number of Monsters returned." Korbinian smiled. "That will force our Life Points to 0 simultaneously."

The pixels exploded. When the smoke cleared, both duelist were standing still, not saying a word. **(TLP: 900-0) (KLP: 100-0)**

The audience was silent. A few seconds, no-one knew what to make of this conclusion. Suddenly, someone started to clap. Then, the whole crowd applauded the two duelists.

"That concludes a heated duel between Terence Brivon and Korbinian Heimlicher! Sadly, Terence didn't win. Therefore, he will not be allowed entrance into NDU."

Trunks sighed and turned around, starting to walk away.

"Actually," said Korbinian, "Brivon will be attending NDU as it is right now. Before the duel, it was stated that I would have to beat him to prevent his submission. Obviously, I didn't. Therefore, as NDU's finest duelist, I welcome Brivon into NDU."

Trunks turned around and looked at Korbinian with wide eyes. "What?"

Over the speakers, some fumbling in papers was heard. "Uh, apparently, Mr Heimlicher is right. We are glad to welcome Terence Brivon as NDU's newest student!"

A round of applause.

Korbinian suddenly turned serious and turned towards Trunks. "I've given you this one chance. Make use of it. Stay out of trouble. And, of course, have a good time." He winked at the audience and turned around before walking away, leaving Trunks dumbstruck.

That was, until he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a Latino girl. "Well done, Trunks!"

As Trunks got up, he noticed Tabby, Pryce and Corny were standing next to him, smiling. Elizabeth was just a few feet away.

"Two things," said Corny. "One, congratulations. Two, we have to get to our audition, so hurry up!"

Trunks was taken back into reality by this statement. "Oh, right." He grinned. "Let's show 'em something!" He sped off.

"Wait for me!" yelled Corny before running after him.

Pryce looked at Tabby and Elizabeth. "So I guess that leaves us, huh?"

Elizabeth scoffed. "I don't really care what you're gonna do. I have to get home and work on my research."

"Really?" asked Pryce. "What kind of research?"

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "The personal kind of research." She turned around and walked away.

Tabby wrapped her arm around Pryce's shoulder. "Don't worry about her. Let's get to town. I want to get those extensions!"

"Uh, sure," said Pryce.

The two of them started to walk to the main entrance.

_20 min later, Hair Salon_

The door of Salon Cheveux opened and Pryce and Tabby walked through. Salon Cheveux was one of the best hair salons in Neo Domino. The walls were a soft pink and in the middle stood a fountain, spewing crystal clear water a few feet into the air. Barbershop seats were located at the walls of the circular room, reflected in wall-high mirrors. The ceiling was covered by white fur with black stripes.

"Well," said Pryce. "This place looks fancy."

Tabby jokingly slapped the back of his head. "That's because it is a fancy place, silly! Here, you can get everything done. Nails, hair, make-up... It isn't cheap, but it is damn worth it."

At that moment, a well-rounded woman in her mid-forties walked at them. "Tabs! How nice to see you!"

Tabby's eyes lit up. "Ronda! Hey girl!"

Ronda gave Tabby a quick hug. "So how is everything going? Did you get into NDU? And have you found the big L yet?"

"Huh," said Pryce. "The big L?"

Ronda sighed a semi-dramatic sigh. "The big L, as in Looove... The one thing every girl would want!"

Tabby giggled. "I'm doing fine, Ronda. I did get into NDU. And guess what..." She pulled a yellow jersey out of her bag. "I'm in Ra Yellow!"

Ronda clasped her hands together. "That is just so wonderful! And that colour looks so nice on your skin tone..."

"Thanks," said Tabby. "And I do have a boy in mind... Come. I first want to tell you what I want with my hair and then I'll you everything about him."

Ronda clasped her hands together again. "How wonderful. Now, come. I want to hear everything about this young Greek god."

Tabby and Ronda turned around and walked to one of the unoccupied seats. Tabby briefly turned around to Pryce. "Pryce, you can go and sit on that couch over there. This could take some time."

"Uh, OK," said Pryce. He walked to the pink couch and sat down next to a black-haired guy in his twenties.

The black-haired guy turned towards Pryce. "So your girlfriend dragged you here too, huh?"

"Well," said Pryce. "She isn't m-"

"I can get into that, y'know. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do to get laid."

Pryce looked at the man in shock, not sure what to say in response to that. Eventually, he just chose to ignore him and took his cellphone out of his pocket. He had to text home he would probably be home a bit later...

! #$%^&*()*&^%$# !

FAKE CARDS:

XYZ COLOSSEUM  
>Field Spell<br>Image: Technicolor coliseum in space  
>Card Description: Xyz Monsters gain 200 ATK. Non-Xyz Monsters cannot declare an attack.<br>_This card first appeared in the ZEXAL anime where it was used by VI. Rights go to the creators of the anime._

PHOTON SUPPLYCHYDERM  
>Type: BeastXyz/Effect  
>Attribute: Light<br>Rank: 8  
>ATK: 2800<br>DEF: 3300  
>Card Description: 3 Level 8 LIGHT Monsters<br>Once per turn: Detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Add 1 Level 6 or lower "Photon"  
>Monster from your Graveyard to your hand and draw 1 card. Select one card from your hand<br>and return it to your Deck.

OVERLAY BRUTE  
>Type: BeastEffect  
>Attribute: Fire<br>Level: 4  
>ATK: 2400<br>DEF: 0  
>Card Description: Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. You can Special Summon this card from your hand by destroying 1 Xyz Monster you control. You can detach 1 Xyz Material from a face-up Xyz Monster; Both players may Special Summon one Level 4 or lower monster from their hand. During the End Phase: Place this card on the top of your deck.<p>

PHOTON ALEXANDRA QUEEN  
>Type: WarriorXyz/Effect  
>Attribute: Light<br>Rank: 4  
>ATK: 2100<br>DEF: 1200  
>Card Description: You may detach 2 Xyx Materials from this card; Return all monsters on the field to the hand, then inflict 500 damage to the controllers for each of their monsters returned.<br>_This card first appeared in the ZEXAL anime where it was used by Droite. Rights go to the creators of the anime. In its anime appearance, this monster's ATK was never shown. I just assume it's 2100-ish based on its little buddy, Papilloperative._

! #$%^&*()*&^%$# !

Witty Phantom: OK, so we wrapped that one, didn't we?

Pryce: I want to duel again...

WP: Next chapter.

Pryce: Yay...

Corny: Should I do the preview?

WP: No, I want it to be a surprise... A big surprise...


End file.
